That Was It? Michael Jackson Film Hits Theaters

Michael Jackson's This Is It hit theaters this week to mixed reviews.

The film is pieced together from endless hours of rehearsal footage and portrays Jackson on the verge of one of the greatest concerts of all time. The fact that it never saw the light of day only adds magic and mystique to the production.

The question remains, if Jackson did live to put on The Is It, would it have lived up to its lofty expectations, or would it have been a massive flop?

Director Kenny Ortega argues for the first option, and does so by showing only the best clips available. It makes you wonder how bad some of the footage was if Jackson's half dancing, half singing during some songs is the best they had. Still, this footage was never meant to be shown to the public, it was only put together after the star's death as a money making venture.

Some Jackson fans are upset over the film's portrayal of the star and have put together a campaign called This Is Not It. Their website states, "In the weeks leading up to Michael Jackson’s death, while this footage was being shot, people around him knew that he looked like he might have died. Those who stood to make a profit chose to ignore it." The group calls the film, "movie magic at its best," saying that it does not portray what was really going on at the time.

But come on, people don't necessarily want to watch a movie about a stressed Jackson coping with drugs, weight loss, and wondering if he could even complete the 50 show run. At least not right now. That will work well for sweeps on 20/20 at some point in the future, but people still want to remember Michael Jackson for his musical accomplishments and celebrate his body of work, which is exactly what This Is It does...along with making Kenny Ortega a boatload of money.