Looking for two hours of entertainment? "This Is It."

This is a simple documentary about a complicated man. Earlier this year, Michael Jackson was planning a comeback tour. It was to be his last one, he told hordes of screaming fans in London.

"This is it," he says. "This is the final curtain call."

About that time is when the hair stood up on the back of my neck. It is a foreshadowing of a death that came all too soon.

Jackson had his director, Kenny Ortega, film the tour preparations for his archives without knowing that it would become the closest thing to a documentary based on his concert tour. For me, and I'm sure it's the case for millions of other fans, this is the closest I ever got to seeing Jackson in concert.

The film is comprised of rehearsal footage from April through June of this year. And maybe now it's all the more obvious via the big screen that Jackson was a consummate entertainer and an electrifying performer who worked incredibly hard.

The show doesn't start with Jackson himself. Rather, a la "A Chorus Line," it depicts several hopefuls who want to be selected to perform with him onstage. Several of them tear up as they try to express what working with Jackson would mean to them.

Finally, the performers are selected and Jackson begins his grueling series of practices, most of which are greeted by standing ovations and cheers from the only audience: the folks behind the stage and those who were supposed to join him there.

So much of this compelling show reveals Jackson's gentle side. "God bless you," he tells his crew, always correcting them "with love." He's soft-spoken, never angry, never pouting - always the picture of courtesy and respect for everyone who interacts with him. Not a note was planned that wasn't Jackson's alone: This is his music. It always was, I think, even when he was tiny kid singing someone else's songs.

I don't know if anyone has ever been able to move or express himself physically as Jackson did. Impossibly thin, surreally flexible, he seems to defy gravity at every turn. The dancers onstage with him are talented, but it's always Jackson who shines. And that's not because it's a contest for him to outdo everyone else. It's just that his natural - make that unnatural - abilities come forth whether he's choreographing, directing, singing or dancing.

He delivers lots of favorites that delighted folks in the theater audience. Yes, I joined in clapping to "Thriller" and "Billie Jean." You'll also see fantastic special effects, including a shootout with Humphrey Bogart, which were prepared to be included in the stage show.

This is a unique, special tribute to a tormented, talented entertainer. If you're looking for a movie worth your time and money, this is it.