“Devotion” is also the perfect word to have in the title. The film’s stance is that Jackson was a merely a tragic victim of the environment around him, and glosses over a lot of the unpleasant aspects of the late performer’s life.

The story unfolds with the untimely death of the beloved Jackson and then takes us back to Gary, Indiana where it all started. After a very brief history of the Jackson Five and Motown Records, the focus swiftly shifts to Michael as a solo artist. The tension between the family and father Joe Jackson during the Jackson Five days is ignored completely. The only interesting thing the film is able to get out of this segment is an interview with Berry Gordy Jr., the founder of Motown Records.

What “Devotion” fails to capture, is that the iconic essence of Michael Jackson will always be found in his music. Yes he was a philanthropist, had eccentricities, and was slightly vilified by the media but it is his music that upholds his status as a legend. This DVD is basically a narrated list of Jackson’s awards, charitable contributions and wrongs on the media’s part.

The highlight of the film is the “Memorial Service” feature in the bonus features menu. Here, we actually get footage of family and friends remembering Michael and sharing some fond memories.

One resonating clip from an otherwise mundane film is from Jackson’s brief press conference in March when he announced his final shows at London’s O2 Arena. Jackson’s words of “when I say this is it, it really means this is it … the final curtain call,” seem particularly haunting to hear from him.