When I was a kid, we'd normally go to the cinema close to us, which was still a single-house cinema, so they'd likely be only playing 3 movies at a time. This wasn't playing. I was 7 or 8 at the time and I saw Moonwalker in the newspaper playing in the city. I told my mum and she said "you'll have to wait until it's at the local cinema". I screamed and shouted that it might never make it there and eventually she replented! (I'm glad I did because it never made it to my local.)
So we went to the city and it was a very new experience because it was the first cine-plex that I'd been to. I walked in and couldn't believe how small the room was. I thought it looked space-age because of the new seats and the lights on the carpet run and the seats.
The movie was strange as it starts with him in concert, then a montage, then a kid pretending to be Michael doing Bad, then Michael emerging and being chased by fans, then the video 'leave me alone'.
When the movie finally starts it was a strange tale and one that perhaps was a little dark for an 8 year old. The biggest highlight was seeing the 'smooth criminal' element, which is without a doubt, the most impressive aspect of this movie.
When I grew up I learnt that it didn't show in American cinemas (maybe one or two) because there was a dispute with the distributors who MJ's team were apparently too greedy with.
It's enjoyable on DVD and his performance of 'Man in the mirror' is much better than any other concert version. I wish that whoever shot this, hopefully shot the rest of the concert and that there is a version of MJ performing in widescreen.
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Reply by rudely_murray
on June 30, 2017 at 10:06 AM
I saw it with a group of friends - I was, I guess, seven or eight years older than you - and we all hated it, including the big Jackson fans among us. It remains one of the most vividly terrible cinema experiences of my life and I have never plucked up the courage to watch a single frame of it since.
Reply by Renovatio
on June 30, 2017 at 10:22 AM
I saw it as a child as well, at home, not in the cinema... Smooth Criminal blew me away! It still holds up; shot beautifully...
Reply by intothenightalone
on June 30, 2017 at 6:17 PM
It is something that is enjoyed in sections. It really isn't a 3 part movie. The storyline is pretty terrible but Smooth Criminal is probably Michael's best video (I think Thriller is overrated.)