A 20-year-old Asian kid in a red leather jacket and a fedora moonwalks in a circle around his giggling friends. It’s the day before Halloween and a line of Michael Jackson fans a block long, is waiting to buy tickets to see the gloved one for the very last time. The excitement outside the theater is palpable.

A strong percentage of the people in line are adorned in the gory makeup of the undead from Michael Jackson’s 1982 hit “Thriller,” and are spontaneously breaking out in the famous dance moves that made Michael the “King of Pop.” Originally released for a two week limited engagement in theaters, “This Is It” covers the last few months of the rehearsal process of Michael Jackson’s London concert series that was to be held at the 02 Arena. The film offers a candid glimpse of the megastar in his own element, rather than the courtroom setting we’d become so accustomed to seeing him in, in recent years.

The film serves as a reminder that this man was, and is, a genius; particularly for those who are too young to remember Jackson as anything but a suspected pedophile and bankrupt recluse. The audience watches Michael as he creates and rehearses for the stage spectacular that was to be his swan song. It doesn’t take long until the audience forgets the frail Michael they watched being escorted into an L.A. courthouse in 2005 in his pajamas looking as if he might keel over at any moment, or even the hastily produced specials about the performer’s life that aired non-stop after his tragic death this summer.

The specials about Jackson after his death focused on the tragedy of MJ’s existence stemming from the abuse of his father whom he never reconciled with, to his celebrated penchant for the company of children. The Jackson we see in “This Is It” is a completely different person. He is the Jackson of 1982 again, ready to take down a whole new generation of fans.

He is not frail, but lithe. His movements are crisp, confident, and effortless. He floats across the stage like a ghost. His voice is pitch-perfect and his presence is commanding. He firmly calls the shots, and takes the time to tell the staff he commands that his orders come “With L-O-V-E” in his signature falsetto speaking voice.

Even for those who never considered themselves a fan of Jackson, this film is definitely worth seeing. Consider it the last 121 minutes of the car-crash-you-can’t-stop-watching that was his life.

Shot in Hi-def with IMAX sound, it’s as if you have a private showing with the man himself and it’s a backstage pass that’s utterly fascinating. If, on the other hand, you ever were a Jackson fan, you will be reminded why with instant goose bumps. The opening of Billy Jean will have you squirming in your seat to go dig out the old album. The music and the man are, after all, eternal.

Sony has already recouped over a 100 million dollars in ticket sales on their initial 60 million dollar investment for the rights to shoot the rehearsals. It seems Jackson may have set yet another trend albeit posthumously. Imagine buying a front row ticket to see U2 with back stage passes, at an IMAX theater for ten dollars. This could be the wave of the future. In the end the great irony of “This Is It” is that Jackson was loved by millions the world over. His last live audience, however, consisted of under twenty people, in an empty theater at a dress rehearsal, that turned out to be his final curtain call. Long live the king.