The usual Hollywood overachiever, widely touted and Oscar winning but a film that seems nothing special when you actually sit down to watch it. Michael Keaton is good, sure, but he was better in both SPOTLIGHT and THE FOUNDER, while Edward Norton gives the best performance but is saddled with a sleazy character. And indeed all the characters are unlikeable in that witty, cold American modern style, and the female characters are merely peripheral to the men. The story is rather wandering and aimless although it looks nice and has an interesting subject matter, while the magic realist scenes I found embarrassing.

At this time, "Birdman" has a phenomenal IMDb score of 8.7 and has been talked about a lot in regards to the Oscars. Whether the film does get the nominations (particularly for Michael Keaton) is something we'll know in the next few weeks. As for me, however, I really do think the film is quite overrated--and the biggest reason is that so much of it I've seen before--such as in Fellini's "8 1/2" and a few films that have copied this, such as Woody Allen's "Stardust Memories". The movie, at least to crazed film buffs like me, just lacks the originality to be a great film and it seems overrated.

As for the film, it's about a down and out actor who USED to be a big star back when he starred in superhero movies (like Keaton in real life). Now, decades later, he's attempting a comeback-- starring and directing in a Broadway play. The film is, generally, a behind the scenes look at what it's like during a production. But, it is also punctuated with very strange, surreal fantasy scenes--VERY reminiscent of Marcello Mastroianni's little fantasies in "8 1/2". In fact, there are so many that it's difficult to know what REALLY is happening at times.

I loved parts of the film. Many little bits and pieces made me smile or connected with me. But, at the same time, I struggled with liking the film because so many of the characters were either completely unlikable or were underdeveloped. This, combined with the unevenness of the script and familiarity of the style, the film didn't do much for me. Did I enjoy seeing it? Not especially, but I am glad I did see it-- and assume folks not familiar with "8 1/2" would probably like the film much more than me.

Despite the near-universal acclaim from critics, 'Birdman' very much divided audiences to a quite extreme degree. This division is very much understandable, 'Birdman' has a great many merits but not everything will work for everybody.

To me 'Birdman' was an excellent film. Maybe not quite as good as the hype suggests, but nowhere near deserving of the many 1/10 votes when its merits are a great many that some people seem to have not acknowledged. Although, from personal opinion, a little over-hyped, 'Birdman' ('Gone Girl', 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' and 'Whiplash' were also personal favourites, and 'Boyhood' was also better than given credit for considering the amount of hate it's garnered) was a 2014 highlight and a worthy Best Picture winner.

Not everything in 'Birdman' works. Some of the pace is a touch frenetic in parts of the second half and not everything feels quite as tied up as ought with things left a little loose.

However, 'Birdman' is an exceptionally well made film, with some of the best and cleverest cinematography of the year, some of the cinematography and editing is so dazzling it's enough to take the breath away. The special effects are also tremendous. Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (in the first of his deserved director wins, the best being 2015's 'The Revenant),'Birdman' is one of the best directed films of 2014 too and shows Iñárritu's immense talent as a director, with breath-taking vision, sense of mood and the ability to make the story as gripping as possible.

The script is fun, thought-provoking and at times touchingly profound. The story mostly, while sometimes thin, is gripping and the characters engage.

Michael Keaton gives his best performance in years, an outstanding performance and perhaps a career-best. Edward Norton is similarly superb, his performance also ranking among his best. Emma Stones charms and delights too.

Overall, very much divisive, with some people adoring or admiring it and others hating it, personally was one of the people who loved it while acknowledging its imperfections. 9/10 Bethany Cox