In the Smooth Criminal video, Michael Jackson and his dancers do a cool lean move that defies gravity. Even Jackson, a brilliant dancer in his own right, couldn’t do it without the help of special shoes. So why is game developer Ubisoft including it in its trailer for its game Michael Jackson: The Experience?
In the trailer, a group of players their best Jacko, and the whole thing climaxes with one of them pulling off the lean move – or rather, seeming to. The way the video is edited doesn’t show him actually doing it, but rather, hinting as much by starting at a full body shot and then cutting to a shot from the waist up. Thus, it appears as he’s pulled off the move.
The move itself is in the game, too. Playing it, I wondered why Ubisoft decided to include it. Sure, it’s iconic, but it’s impossible. What’s more, isn’t encouraging people to lean 45 degrees directly into floor dangerous? With Jackson’s dance moves already as tricky as they are, why Ubisoft wanted to complicate things with impossible dance is beyond me. Smooth criminal, indeed.
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