Speculate all you want about what motivated Michael Jackson to commit himself to a 50-concert series in London this past summer. Certainly he was attempting to dig himself out of a financial hole created by his legal battles, his extravagant lifestyle, and a musical career that had floundered for well over a decade. The Michael captured on film in This Is It, however, appears to be anything but going through the motions rehearsing for a tour that would not only be a career retrospective but an attempt to re-establish the King of Pop's relevance. For any fan of Michael's, it not only offers a glimpse into what could have been but also gives a sense of closure to a life that ended too soon on June 25 of this year.

Culled from the thousands of hours of rehearsal footage filmed for the concert at Staples Center in Los Angeles, This Is It gives us a unique perspective into the creative mind of an artist who was highly misunderstood and scrutinized unmercifully.

Clearly, from what is presented in This Is It, Michael was fully capable, coherent, and energetic about creating a spectacle that was certain to be a terrific show. From the selecting of the dancers to the creation of interactive videos and special effects, Michael was intimately involved in the entire process. It is a marvel to watch Michael trying to explain to his musical director how to play the intro to "The Way You Make Me Feel." He explains that it needs to feel like "you're dragging yourself out of bed." To watch his musicians nod in agreement while clearly not understanding exactly what Michael meant gives this film a light and comical feel. His playful interaction with his musicians and dancers make him seem much more down-to-earth than his larger-than-life persona. His performance of "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" with Judith Hill is both intense and intimate.

Recognizing his frailty and propensity for overdoing it, Michael is surprisingly reserved for many of the performances choosing instead to not sing in full voice while effortlessly dancing through the sequences. The rehearsals were obviously not for him but for the dancers, musicians, technicians and special effect coordinators to learn how to follow his lead. Once in a while, and just for a few moments, he lets down his guard and gives it his all on such songs as "They Don't Care About Us," "Jam," and "Smooth Criminal" (replete with interspliced scenes of Michael sharing the silver screen with legends like Bogart and Hayworth).

This Is It was edited under the watchful eye of Michael Jackson's estate so it is no surprise that Michael is presented in only the most positive light. There is no sign of the troubled man who, as we have learned following his death, struggled with insomnia, addiction to painkillers, and sedatives while surrounding himself with yes-men who would not confront him. Any glimpse of such surely ended up on the cutting room floor.

Which begs the larger question of which Michael Jackson we are seeing on the screen. Michael The King of Pop performed with reckless abandon, danced like no one we had ever seen, and wrote some of the most unforgettable music of the past hundred years. Michael the man, on the other hand, was just a human being: flawed, full of fear and doubt, struggling with weakness, and trying to find joy and meaning in life. Surely he made his share of mistakes and the cost he paid for them is immeasurable. In the end, he was clearly a lost soul who could not be saved by those closest to him. It is a shame that those who surrounded him in his last days did not recognize that This Is It had a bigger meaning than just the name of a concert.