Two weeks before the movie premiered, I bought my tickets for "Michael Jackson's This Is It". It's not that I'm that big a fan of Michael Jackson that I "die-die" had to watch the show. Rather, I wanted to see him on the big screen and feared that tickets would sell out fast once they became available.

Thus, on its second day of screening, I was seated in a packed cinema hall to watch the last performance by this legendary singer. Going in, I hadn't really known what to expect, aside from his rehearsal footage. Was this going to be a documentary? Would his family members be interviewed? Was it a retrospective celebration?

As it turns out, "This Is It" was what his concert would've been, if he had been alive to stage it. The few interviews were limited to those with his musicians and dancers, who spoke with such awe-struck tones about working with Michael Jackson. Surprisingly, none of the key concert producers or organisers were interviewed directly, apparently preferring to provide a more "lay man's" point-of-view.

What stuck out most from the interviews was their dedication to their work, and it was because of Michael Jackson's direct and intimate touch with how he wanted his concert to be. Throughout the show, and since this was rehearsal footage, we got to see Jackson focus so strongly on his songs and choreography. One part that brought this out clearly this was when he dictated how he wanted the opening notes to (I think) "I Just Can't Stop Lovin' You", and didn't rest till his lead pianist got it right.

It's little moments like this that make me wonder just how his concert would've turned out "live". Going to a concert, one usually experiences the moment in all of its musical and technical wonder. But there's a lot more work that goes on behind-the-scenes, as this movie showed. Like the shooting of the new videos for "They Don't Care About Us" and "Thriller", when I thought about how those dancers were probably cursing and swearing every time they had to get each minute move just perfect for Michael Jackson's desires.

But then, the movie also showed the singer's dedication to his craft. He danced easily like he was in his twenties. The moonwalk, the snappy hand gestures, everything was there on incredible display. In particular, I could feel his energy in the opening songs, like "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" and later with "Beat It". However, there were also times when he did a lot of striding across the stage for the entire song, which made me wonder whether those were moments when he was taking it easy due to exhaustion and in anticipation of the next dance. But this was a 50-year-old guy, I'm sure everyone would forgive him if he wasn't thumping for two hours straight.

It's probably fair to say that Michael Jackson was a truly unique performer, and "This Is It" bears this out. There are few singers who could not only sing and dance, but sing and dance memorably. His old songs still sounded modern and his slick moves are still unmatched. The movie is a testament to his genius and poor substitute for what should have been the pinnacle moment of his career.