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| Lots of films claim to be different. Birdman is. |
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| (Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle) |
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| This is a remarkable feat, not only of cinematography, but of choreography. Just to film Michael Keaton and Edward Norton walking down a Manhattan street, everything had to be timed as in a dance — when the camera swirls ahead, when it goes behind, when it swoops back around. It’s all accomplished so smoothly that it would be worth doing merely as a stunt, except this is no stunt. This method carries the mood and soul of one of the best movies of 2014. |
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| (Ann Hornaday, Washington Post) |
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| The bravura gestures work gorgeously in Birdman, as does the humor, which playfully balances the film’s most mystical, contemplative ideas with a steady stream of inside jokes and well-calibrated shifts in tone and dynamics. |
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| (Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic) |
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| Birdman is a treat. But it's also more than that. It's a full-fledged wonder. |
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| (Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times) |
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| Birdman is everything you want movies to be: vital, challenging, intellectually alive, visually stunning, emotionally affecting. And welcome back to the big time, Mr. Keaton; you have been sorely missed. |
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| (Steve Persall, Tampa Bay Times) |
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| Everything about Birdman is a bold cinematic stretch, from its snare-jazz soundtrack to a climax regrettably stretched too far. The line between Inarritu's genius and Riggan's madness gets crossed once too many, but no matter. Birdman has 99 virtues and ignorance isn't one. |
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| (Mike Scott, New Orleans Times-Picayune) |
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| From the first line of its deep, rapid-fire dialog all the way through to its trippy ending - which is guaranteed prompt discussion on the drive home - Inarritu has crafted a film that begs to be rewatched, with the promise of each repeated viewing bringing something new. |
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| (Marc Mohan, Portland Oregonian) |
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| The thrilling cinematic joyride that, among other improbable feats, puts Michael Keaton, as Thomson, smack in the middle of the Oscar race for best actor. |
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| (Ty Burr, Boston Globe) |
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| This is a strange and beautiful and unique film, one of the best movies of the year. |
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| (Kimberley Jones, Austin Chronicle) |
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| Birdman is a complete blast from start to finish. |
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| (Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer) |
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| With its improvisatory score (drummer Antonio Sanchez provides a hustling backbeat throughout), its seamless shots, its leaps into the surreal, and then back again into the excruciating, embarrassing real, Birdman ascends to the greatest of heights. |
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| (Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times) |
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| This pitch-dark comedy, which was directed, con brio, by Alejandro G. Inarritu, sizzles as the camera circles, stalks and swoops. Emmanuel Lubezki’s friction-free cinematography constitutes a virtuoso turn in its own right in a production that’s strewn with superb performances, some of them loud and bold, others subtle and restrained. |
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| (Manohla Dargis, New York Times) |
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| Inarritu ditches time-hopping bleakness for a linear, if loopy, satire that buzzes with brio. If Mel Brooks, John Cassavetes and Terry Zwigoff co-directed a superhero movie, this might be it. |
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| (Ian Freer, Empire) |
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| A triumph on every creative level, from casting to execution. |
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| (Cath Clarke, Time Out) |
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| Spectacular, star-powered cinema that makes us ask anew what cinema is for. Call it a Dark Knight of the soul. |
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| (Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph) |
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| As exhilarating a flight of fantasy as you're likely to see anytime soon. |
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| (Anthony Lane, New Yorker) |
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, Naomi Watts, Zach Galifianakis
