>IMO, the Tarantino non-linear timeline was a bad choice

That I loved.

1. Non-linear timelines for documentaries is NOT easy.
2. There were great connections between the eras. They did a great job of
showing a trait MJ had in HS or college and connecting it with 97/98.
Again, making those connections is not easy.

3. The timeline kept the film moving. OJ Made In America (while dealing with a much more complicated subject line) also did this. They started with him in jail as a cold open. Once the opening was over, the story begins at USC. We don't get to his childhood until later, and the purpose is to tie it to something in another era.