Birdman a.k.a The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance

MPAA Rating: R for language throughout, some sexual content and brief violence.
Run Time: 119 Minutes
My Rating: 2.5/5
So today I decided to go and see New Regency Pictures'
Birdman starring Michael Keaton (Beetlejuice), Emma Stone (The Amazing Spiderman), Edward Norton (The Incredible Hulk), Naomi Watts (The Ring), and Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover).  The film centers around Riggan Thomas (Michael Keaton) a washed-up actor who once played the iconic superhero Birdman, who tries to reinvent himself by writing, directing, and acting in his own Broadway play.  As he prepares for the opening night, Riggan must face one disaster after another.  Not only is the play causing so many setbacks, but he must also face his massive ego and his equally washed up daughter (Emma Stone).  As all the pressure begins to mount on top of him, he must make decisive choices that leads the film and his play to its shocking finale.
 Ok, so as I was walking out of the theater I have to admit I was going to write a scathing review at how horrible I thought this film was, but the more I sit and think about the film, I realize that it does have some very special qualities to it.  For one thing, the acting is impeccable.  People are saying that this is Michael Keaton's comeback film and to be honest, I completely agree with them.  He does an amazing job in this film and I wouldn't be surprised to see his name on the Oscar Ballot at the end of the year.  With that being said, his performance is magnified greatly by the excellent supporting cast surrounding him.  The supporting cast is great and each one of them deserves to be recognized for the amazing performances that they give.
Another thing I liked about this film is how prevalent it is today as we look at Hollywood.  Today in Hollywood everywhere we look we see Superhero movies.  Don't get me wrong I absolutely love the genre and am first in line to see them, but they are everywhere.  In fact I just looked at a calendar the other day saying that there will be 4-5 superhero movies every single year until 2020 and that is just what have been announced so far.  That is around 24-30 films in the next six years that have to deal with Superheroes.
With all these superheroes that are coming to the big screen we begin to idolize the actors that play them.  Since 2008 Robert Downey Jr., Christian Bale, and Chris Hemsworth have become household names, but is it really them that we idolize, or is it just the character they play?  Take Robert Downey Jr. for example, in 2013 he came out with Iron Man 3 which went on to make $1.2 billion dollars.  After that critics and movegoers believed that he was unstoppable.  However just a year later when his latest movie "The Judge" came out (which I personally believe is a fantastic movie and you should definitely read my review on it) it was met with no audience at all.  So this begs the question is Robert Downey Jr. a person who has it all, or does he only have it all when he puts on his the Iron Man suit?
This situation is what this film focuses on.  What is interesting though is that Michael Keaton is still trying to figure out how to bring in an audience now.  Back in the late 80's early 90's he starred as Batman and was a popular name in people's households.  Since then he hasn't really been able to bring in a crowd.  This film shows one of the best meta-situations out there.  Michael Keaton is finally getting his comeback as he is showing the difficulties of superhero actors to mount comebacks.  This in and of itself is great to watch.
With all the things that I liked about this film, the film as a whole is a mess.  The reason I walked out of the film hating it was because there was really no character that I could really fall in love with or even care for.  Along with that I felt like most of the supporting characters didn't have to be there (though I thought their acting was great) and their story lines really did nothing to progress the plot.  Really the entire film was a mess and the meaning of the film can be lost very quickly if ones isn't up to date with their Hollywood news.
So overall, though I thought the film was good, I definitely do not believe that this film is for everyone.  If you are aware of what is happening in Hollywood and know Hollywood trivia, you would really like this film, if you don't then this film is not for you.  Though the acting is incredible, there are many other films out there that are much more deserving of your attention.