‘Wanna Be Starting Something’ is the opening track in this film assembled from the rehearsal footage of the sold-out but never-to-be-started tour.

Jackson had intended to play 50 nights at London’s massive O2 Arena, where he planned to take his many fans ‘to another planet’. ‘We do it for love’ was his message to the huge entourage assembled around him in the months running up to the concert series, always making sure that he got the best out of his artists, a quality rare enough in the world of pop music.

Sadly, these shows never took place as Michael unexpectedly passed away in June of this year, barely 50 years old. Through this footage, we can see that Jackson was helping literally thousands of artists live their dream.

Even as a child, the youngest of the Jackson Five, Michael stood out as a star. From early childhood, his father Joe put his nose to the grindstone with an unrelenting schedule of recording, rehearsing and touring.

Given his age, and looking back now, it was nothing short of exploitation and it left its mark on Jackson’s character and in his work.

From his childhood experience came the voice, deep with feeling and a commitment to perfection, deep with emotion, as we can see in the film. Singing, his delivery is metronomically locked into each song with impeccable timing and pitch.

Michael’s internal metronome ensures that his dancing is similarly faultless and dynamic. Jackson knew and loved every one of his songs, every rhythm, every key– he was going to give his fans exactly what they wanted– a spectacular show of the hits they loved.

And what a show! Swarkovski crystal-studded costumes provided dazzle, and more than a thousand dancers populated the vast stage; may of them no doubt inspired by Jackson to take up the art.

At the end of ‘Beat It’, Jackson planned to beat his jacket on the ground and set it on fire. In rehearsal, we see him urging a young female rock guitarist, Orianthi Panagaris, to let it rip, and she can and she does– he wants to let her shine. He brings his message of love to the rehearsals, he talks a lot about saving the planet, already so damaged, before it is too late.

The film has been criticised for not mentioning the state of his health at the time, and AEG, the concert promoters, have their logo all over the credits. That aside, the film stands as an elegy for a great talent who died far too young. The final track, ‘This Is It’ provides the film’s title. The film gave Jackson fans worldwide a chance to mourn and to meet and talk with other lovers of this prodigious talent.