From the very first beat, Michael pulses with energy, charting Jackson’s journey from a difficult childhood through his meteoric rise with the Jackson 5, culminating in his world-conquering dominance following the release of Thriller. It’s a story we think we know — but Fuqua ensures it feels urgent, intimate, and alive.

The story of pop superstar Michael Jackson – from his extraordinary early days in the Jackson 5 to the visionary artist whose creative ambition fuels a relentless pursuit to become the biggest entertainer in the world.

Behind the Glitter: Pain, Pressure, and Peter Pan Dreams

While Michael dazzles with its pitch-perfect recreation of Jackson’s superstardom, Fuqua is just as invested in the shadows behind the spotlight. The film digs deep into the emotional scars left by a harsh upbringing, particularly the impact of his domineering father, brought to life with chilling intensity by Colman Domingo.

Through this lens, Michael becomes more than a celebration — it’s a character study. Fuqua carefully explores Jackson’s longing for innocence, his fractured sense of self, and his lifelong attachment to the fantasy of Peter Pan. The result is a portrait of a man frozen between worlds: global icon and vulnerable child. It’s in these quieter, more introspective moments that Michael finds its emotional backbone.

Jaafar Jackson: A Star is Born

Stepping into the shoes, and the single glove, of a legend is no small feat, but Jaafar Jackson rises to the challenge with astonishing confidence. His performance is nothing short of transformative.

From the voice to the movement, the posture to the presence, Jaafar channels his uncle with uncanny precision. But more importantly, he brings humanity to the role. His portrayal captures both the exuberance and fragility of Jackson, delivering a performance that feels authentic rather than imitative. When he’s on stage, the film soars — and the audience goes right along with him.

A Family Drama with Impact

Opposite him, Domingo’s Joe Jackson is a force to be reckoned with. This isn’t a caricature, but a layered depiction of ambition turned toxic. Domingo plays him with a simmering intensity that never tips into parody, presenting a man driven by success at any cost.

The dynamic between father and son gives Michael its edge, grounding the film’s spectacle in something far more raw and confronting. It’s uncomfortable viewing at times — and all the better for it.

Pure Pop Cinema: Loud, Luminous, Unmissable

On a technical level, Michael is a feast for the senses. Fuqua leans into scale and spectacle, crafting a film that demands to be seen on the biggest screen possible, preferably IMAX. The musical sequences are explosive, the choreography electric, and the sound design absolutely thumping.

This is cinema that moves — literally. It grooves, it glides, it moonwalks. And just when you think you’ve reached the peak, the film closes on the dawn of the Bad era, leaving you with one undeniable thought: this story isn’t finished yet.

Final Verdict: Feel the Rhythm

Michael is bold, vibrant, and emotionally resonant — a biopic that celebrates the genius of Michael Jackson while never shying away from the complexities that defined him. With powerhouse performances, kinetic direction, and a soundtrack that still slaps decades later, it’s an experience that will leave audiences energised and reflective in equal measure.

Image: Universal Pictures

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Watch the action-packed new trailer for The Equalizer 3 below:

Here’s the official synopsis:

Since giving up his life as a government assassin, Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) has struggled to reconcile the horrific things he’s done in the past and finds a strange solace in serving justice on behalf of the oppressed. Finding himself surprisingly at home in Southern Italy, he discovers his new friends are under the control of local crime bosses. As events turn deadly, McCall knows what he has to do: become his friends’ protector by taking on the mafia.

Washington reteams with filmmaker and long-time collaborator Antoine Fuqua for the final chapter of McCall’s story in The Equalizer 3. Following in the wake of The Equalizer and The Equalizer 2, they’re ready to take things up a notch as McCall goes head tp head with a brutal Mafia clan. And he ain’t mucking around. This new trailer captures the intensity and pulse-pounding action of the new film perfectly and audiences will be in for a rush with The Equalizer 3.

Along with putting Washington back in action as McCall, Fuqua also makes this a collaboration between Washington and Dakota Fanning, who made a hell of a pair of co-stars with 2004’s Man on Fire, and it’s very cool to see them back on screen together. While we’re not privy to the state of their relationship this time around, it’s incredibly exciting to see them both on screen together, and their undeniable chemistry is still there.

The Equalizer 3 is shaping up to be one hell of an action epic, and this final chapter is ready to bring the ferocity of action when it arrives in cinemas on August 31.

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In the wake of a disastrous mission overseas, Navy SEAL Commander James Reece returns home with conflicting memories of the operation and questions about his own culpability.

Noted Hollywood filmmaker Antoine Fuqua reteams with Pratt, and showrunner David DiGilio to bring the intense action of The Terminal List to Prime Video, and Episode One, ‘The Engram’, sets the stage for one hell of a series. With his work on classic Hollywood films such as Training Day, Tears of The Sun, Olympus Has Fallen and The Equalizer, Fuqua knows how to bring the action. But more importantly, he knows how to bring it with the authenticity that it needs. And that’s exactly what he does in The Terminal List. Leaning into the SEAL community, Fuqua, Pratt and DiGilio work hand in hand with Carr and fellow former SEAL, and now producer, Jared Shaw, to make The Terminal List the most accurate and intense portrayal of Special Operations warfare on television. And the action of ‘The Engram’ hits audiences with the force of an M4 on full auto.

Introducing audiences to Chris Pratt’s Lt. Commander James Reece, Fuqua presents a very different character for one of Hollywood’s most likeable stars, and Pratt leans into the warrior intensity of Reece perfectly. Carr had long envisioned Pratt in the role, and it’s a perfect fit. With this role Pratt turns himself into a wartime pitbull who is ready to take the fight to the enemy and damn does he deliver with this performance. A stoic man of few words, Pratt’s Reece is a warrior and hero in the truest sense of the word. Placing loyalty to his family, troop and country above all else, Reece finds himself thrown into a vicious firefight that leaves his whole team dead. But when the body count starts ramping up back on home soil, he soon begins to question everything that happened, including his intense head trauma, and it’s here that we have the start of a compelling new thriller that audiences are going to dig.

Pratt fits the mould and intensity of the character of Reece perfectly, and while audiences have come to appreciate his goofball personality and feel-good character, they’re not going to get any of that with The Terminal List. This is an altogether new performance for Pratt. Reece is a no-nonsense character of immense physical and mental toughness, and his keen intelligence is as much of a weapon as his trained trigger finger. With Reece, audiences get to see a serious and more dramatic side to Pratt that we haven’t seen since Moneyball, and the scope of The Terminal List gives Pratt a lot to play with. The narrative moves fast in ‘The Engram’ and we’re only at the start of James Reece’s character journey, but he’s going to make for one hell of a compelling hero.

Alongside Pratt, Episode One, ‘The Engram’ also introduces audiences to the main supporting characters of The Terminal List. And it’s an impressive cast. There’s Taylor Kitsch as Ben Edwards, Reece’s former SEAL teammate, best friend and now active CIA agent, who is there for him when he needs it. Kitsch gives Ben a great surfer bro meets mercenary quality, and just like Reece, his mind is turning. Constance Wu makes an about turn as crack investigative reporter Katie Buranek, and her ‘take no shit’ attitude marks her as a character to watch in the new series. Riley Keough brings a deep heart to the series as Reece’s beloved wife Lauren, and she’s the only one who can breach his hard shell and give him something worth living for. And finally, Jeanne Tripplehorn brings authority and presence as Secretary of Defense Lorraine Hartley, who is keeping a watchful eye on Reece.

The action hits hard when it comes to The Terminal List’s approach to its action scenes, and James Reece is one hell of a nail driver. Authenticity is the rule of the game and with former active duty Team Guys guiding his every move, Chris Pratt is utterly lethal up on the screen. There’s nothing fancy or flourishing about the combat in The Terminal List and Pratt moves with efficiency and determination to achieve mission success. And a hell of a lot of bad guys get put down in the process. Whether he’s going down range in the series’ Syrian-based opening or taking the fight to a group of assassins close to home, Pratt’s Reece is a warrior who delivers some solid action moments, and Fuqua doesn’t skimp on the graphic intensity of the fight. Spent brass and brutal exist wounds are the focus of The Terminal List and action fans looking for a rush will be very pleased with the visceral intensity that is brought to the action.

Along with dialling up the ferocity of the action on screen, director Antoine Fuqua also dives deep into a dangerous and far-reaching conspiracy that has deadly and savage consequences. There’s an edge to the storytelling that is presented in The Terminal List, and Episode One, ‘The Engram’, has plenty of unexpected twists and turns that will stop audiences in their tracks. This piece of television is an example of a master action filmmaker at work, and Fuqua knows how to keep up the severity of this series of thriller moments right to the episode’s shocking and traumatic final moments.

The Terminal List is a raw, intense and powerful new series for Prime Video and audiences who are looking for a rush will be very impressed by it.

The Terminal List is currently streaming on Prime Video.

Image: Prime Video

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Watch the full trailer for The Terminal List below:

Here’s the official synopsis:

The series follows James Reece (Chris Pratt) after his entire platoon of Navy SEALs is ambushed while on a covert mission. Reece returns home to his family with conflicting memories of the event and questions about his culpability. As new evidence comes to light, Reece discovers dark forces working against him, endangering not only his life but the lives of those he loves.

Right from the start this new trailer dials everything up and promises audiences something primal and violent in its delivery. The Terminal List is a full-on action rush, driven by the authenticity of its creator and the world he operated in as an elite warrior, and Pratt, alongside frequent collaborator, and one of the best action directors working today, Antoine Fuqua, readily understood this, and this is what leads their commitment to delivering on this epic series.

While he might be known for his amiable, light-hearted, good-guy sensibilities, Chris Pratt trades it all up here as he steps into the battle-worn combat boots of elite Navy SEAL operator Lt. Commander James Reece, who finds himself the target of a dangerous conspiracy. Taken to the edge, and left for dead, Reece vows revenge and this warrior makes himself into a new type of insurgent hunter as he strives to gain his own vengeance and eradicate all those who targeted him.

This new trailer showcases the edge and intensity that The Terminal List is bringing to audiences, and viewers are truly going to be caught off guard, not only with the ferocity of the narrative but also with an incredibly different performance on the part of Chris Pratt.

Mount up and prepare to go down range because The Terminal List is coming to Prime Video on July 1. You do not want to miss out on this one.

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Continuing to fight the good fight for those that can’t fight for themselves Robert McCall (Washington) appears to have found both purpose and peace in his life. But this is shattered forever when his friend and former handler Susan Plummer (Melissa Leo) is murdered by a dangerous group of mercenaries. Suddenly pulled back into the life he thought he’d left behind, McCall declares all-out war on Susan’s killers. 

With The Equalizer 2 Denzel Washington is back in action and whats more this is his first ever sequel! In the Academy Award winners magnificent career he has never once returned to reprise a character before so it’s pretty cool to see that he decided he had more to do as Robert McCall and it’s a decision I was certainly pleased about.

Again Denzel wastes no time as McCall and as soon as the first frame begins to roll he’s back fighting the good fight and serving up a dose of brutal justice to those who deserve it…along with offering them a choice: either except responsibility and offer to pay for your sin or reap the whirlwind. It’s exactly where we last left off in 2014’s The Equalizer and Denzel doesn’t miss a beat in his layered performance as this old school warrior.

Where his performance gets interesting is that The Equalizer 2 takes us deeper into McCall’s history and opens him up further as to what makes him tick and how the events and relationships of his past have shaped him into the man we know today. With this film we get the chance to learn more about the life he lived with his wife Vivienne before she sadly passed on, how his career as a CIA operative came to a close and why he’s willing to do what he does for the little guy. But this focus on the past also leads to McCall’s own sins, the ‘bad things he’s done in his life’ in order to protect the American Dream and how those sins will need to be repayed one day.

We also get to see a lot more into his own psychology this time around. While it was hinted that he may have certain psychopathic tendencies in the first film, here they open up completely and there are several moments when he unleashes the beast all in an effort to make a point. While he might be the good guy make no mistake McCall is a very dangerous man and we get to see him at his darkest here.

This desire to take things to the next level and really amp up The Equalizer 2 comes down to the collaboration between Washington and his director and long-time creative partner Antoine Fuqua. This is the fourth film that these two have made together and given their solid working relationship they were again able to smash things out of the park. Fuqua understands his actor and this character innately and because of this is able to guide Washington in some interesting directions as McCall. This whole film is about stepping everything up a notch, delivering the same badass action and character moments of the original Equalizer film, while also exploring new territory with the sequel.

One way this is approached with The Equalizer 2 was in relation to how the film seeks to show a different side of McCall’s abilities. While in the first film he was primarily a reactionary force, here in the sequel he’s more of a hunter, readily analyzing the world he finds himself in and trying to determine what the motives and actions of these new bad guys are.

Fuqua also plays around with the film’s thematic elements and its unique Boston setting, drawing on the regions wild weather to represent McCall’s mood and emotions as the film progresses. Part of this is related to a growing storm that builds throughout the film before finally unleashing itself in the third act. It’s a great metaphor for the impending reckoning that is building inside McCall and the storm that he intends to unleash on some very bad men.

I’ve also got to send some praise to Washington’s co-star Pedro Pascal who joins the film as his former CIA partner David York. Pascal gives another solid performance here and really holds his own with Washington in the scenes they share together. As York he’s kind of McCall’s shadow and presents a sort of ‘what if’ character. It’s an interesting dynamic that they share together and I was very impressed with what I witnessed up on screen here.

While I have tried to stay away from narrative spoilers with this review I will say that McCall is no longer battling the violent, yet sluggish Russian Mafia thugs of the first film, but instead a new assortment of highly trained and efficient mercenary killers. These bad guys are ready to fight dirty and McCall meets them head on in a series of brutal fight sequences that only get more intense as the film moves forward. Washington is again efficient and to the point with his combat and again uses an assortment of weaponry and hand-to-hand combat techniques to complete the mission. Let’s just say that once again things get gnarly this time and Fuqua again engages his unique ‘Equalizer vision’ as McCall scans his environment and lowers his heart rate before opening up on his enemies and destroying them completely. If you like action that cuts right to the core, well, you’ll get it here.

Denzel Washington once again delivers as Robert McCall in The Equalizer 2 and he delivers with absolute extreme prejudice. This lone wolf assassin is the modern day samurai we need in this world and his commitment to carrying out justice to its fullest really makes you root for him. Once again it’s all about leveling the playing field, and he’ll always give you a choice to make the right decision….just make sure you do it.

Image: Sony Pictures

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The film stars Washington as Robert McCall, a former black ops commando who faked his death to live a quiet life in Boston. When he comes out of his self-imposed retirement to rescue a young girl called Teri, he finds himself face-to-face with ultra-violent Russian gangsters. As he serves justice out those who brutalise the helpless, McCalls’s desire for justice is reawakened. If some had a problem, the odds stacked against them, and they have nowhere else to turn, McCall will help. He is The Equalizer.

Director Antoine Fuqua has crafted a terrific action-thriller which starts off as a slow boil before exploding into full on war. Working from the standpoint of story and character first, Fuqua takes the time to develop his lead character Robert McCall (Denzel Washington), and the world he inhabits. The Equalizer never wastes a beat though. with every frame powering the story forward. Style is also placed next to pacing, and The Equalizer has the feel of the sort of action thriller that harkens back to the film works of the 1970s such as ‘Bullet’, ‘The French Connection’ and ‘Get Carter’. Fuqua builds an intimacy for his audience with McCall’s larger than life heroics, and they’ll find themselves cheering for him when he takes down the bad guys.

As always, Denzel Washington completely commands the screen as the former super spy assassin. A modern day ronin, McCall has left behind his world of violence and death for peace and obscurity, valuing nothing except the right to be left alone, dedicating his life to an almost monastic ritual of simplicity and rhythm. Washington easily portrays McCall’s dual identity as forgettable everyman, and modern day samurai, as well as having a handle on the sadness that permeates his character. Washington’s patience also informs the character of McCall, especially when it comes to the horrible things he’s forced to witness, and his inability at first not to act. This eats away at him, and when the violence does come he delivers it back ten-fold with absolute assertiveness and brutality. In control of the situation at all times, McCall will give you the opportunity to do good, but if you choose otherwise, well…prepare for very quick and violent consequences.

Chloe Grace Moretz’s Teri is the innocent who calls out to McCall’s hero for help. A victim of human traffickers and who was forced into prostitution, Teri is the young ingénue who desperately wants a chance at a different life. Filled with teenage angst, she is slightly standoffish at first to McCall, but is curious about this mysterious loner whom she meets at the late night diner that they both frequent. She slowly gets to know him, and forms a friendship with a man who is non-judgmental, and encourages her to change her life for the better. Moretz gives another fantastic performance, and holds her own during the scenes she shares with Washington, which gradually grow more heartfelt as she learns of the reasons behind his sadness. The brutality that is leveled against her will enrage audience members, and they’ll really be gunning for McCall to avenge her.

Every hero needs a monster, and Marton Csokas is perfect as brutal Russian mob fixer Teddy. Teddy is described as ‘a sociopath with a business card’ whose job it is to use extreme terror and sadism to protect his criminal organisation’s interests. A former Spetznaz operative, Teddy is McCall’s dark shadow come to life, and the two play an increasingly dangerous game of cat and mouse. Csokas is terrifying as Teddy, switching in an instant from refined and dapper to an unrelenting psychotic who’ll tear anyone apart. Devoid of all emotion, he has no qualms about the violence he employs everyday to get the job done. One of the best scenes of the film comes in a certain ‘meeting of the minds’ between these two adversaries, and it’s absolutely chilling to watch.

The Equalizers’ supporting cast are also great, both heroic and villainous. On the heroic side you have Melissa Leo as McCall’s former handler Susan Plummer, whom he turns to for information, as well as Bill Pullman as her husband Brian. The bad guys also have a great supporting cast including David Harbour as Masters, a corrupt police detective, David Meunier as vicious pimp Slavi, Johnny Messner as a hired hitman, and Dan Bilzerian as a member of Teddy’s Serbian mercenary team who are brought in to deal with McCall.

While The Equalizer focuses its attention on story and character when the action does come, it’s unflinching in its brutality. McCall is an expert, and he wastes no time going to work on the bad guys, tearing them apart in quick, calculated succession. The film’s most memorable battle takes place in a hardware store that McCall transforms into a death chamber. It’s definitely not for the squeamish, and will make you look twice at power drills and garden shears.

The Equalizer is an absolute must-see for film fans, thanks to a director and cast at the top of their game, not to mention a story filled with action, drama and honour.

Image source: Roadshow Films.

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