Saturday, 4 July 2020

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This isn't it

Michael Jackson's Moonwalker experimental musical anthology movie relays the everyday tale of how an ordinary pop superstar turns into a robot-spaceship to defeat a drug-peddling underworld kingpin played by Joe Pesci. It constitutes a medley of musical montages revolving around some of Michael's major hits, leading into a longer narrative piece in which the plastic King of Pop defies insurmountable odds to steer the next generation away of plunging to the depths of drug-addled depravity.

Commissioned by US Gold, Irish game developers, Emerald Software, were tasked with adapting the unorthodox sci-fi extravaganza to home computer systems. Honing in on the Speed Demon and Smooth Criminal sequences, it features a variety of arcade-action mini-games revolving around destroying drug packages, outrunning paparazzi and deranged fans and ultimately trouncing Mr Big, avenging his crimes against humanity.

I explore how successfully Emerald managed to capture the magic of Michael's surreal, ego-plumping homage to himself.

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