The story of Riggan Thompson, a washed-up movie actor who hasn’t been popular since his days as comic book hero Birdman, tries to find a purpose in life again, through theater. He is played by Michael Keaton, and while this is just a movie, it’s almost a real life story of the lead actor himself. With all of it’s spectacular directing and camerawork, it should be most reputable for it’s masterful acting. I consider it to be one of the greatest movies of 2014, if not the best. This is Birdman.

I didn’t believe the hype. I couldn’t find a reason to. It’s a movie directed by someone who’s works I’ve never seen before, and maybe his films were good, if not great. It starred Michael Keaton, an actor who hasn’t done anything worthwhile in years… a decade. What I thought going in was that I would get a well directed movie with some incredible camerawork, as cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki worked on the film.

Everyone kept raving about the acting from the entire cast, and how the movie appeared to be done entirely in one shot. I thought having the film appear to be done in one shot would just seem like a gimmick. That it would only work in a couple of scenes like in Children of Men and Gravity. Funny thing is, all three of these movies had the same cinematographer, Emmanuel Lubezki. So now, after reading all the incredibly positive reviews and seeing all the nominations it’s receiving, I can only say that…

Birdman is quite possibly the greatest movie of 2014. I watched some incredible, truly incredible movies in 2014. There are already two movies that came out this past year which I consider to be masterpieces, that being Interstellar and Gone Girl, but I must add Birdman to this list. I can honestly say that, there are honestly no explicit flaws in this movie.

Some may argue that the film had a bit of a pacing problem, somewhere near the second act, and that they didn’t like the ambiguous ending, but I loved it. I’m sorry, but you simply cannot argue how amazing the direction, writing, cinematography, and most of all, the acting was in this movie. Michael Keaton gave the best performance of his career. I never taught I would say Matthew McConaughey gave the best performance of 2013, and now a year later I never taught I would say that Michael Keaton gave the best performance of 2014. He is simply perfect in this movie, along with ALL of his cast mates. Keaton, Edward Norton, and Emma Stone are all deserving of an Oscar nomination. I cannot believe, in the year 2015, that these 3 actors would come together to give some of the best performances in years. Keaton, who’s a washed-up actor, just like his character in this movie. Edward Norton, who has kind of fell off the face of the planet, and is known to be hard to work with, just like his character in the movie. And Emma Stone, while still young, isn’t known to be a dramatic actor. Let’s not forget Naomi Watts and freaking Zach Galifianakis. They were both perfect in this movie.

The directing in this movie is some of the best I’ve seen in a long time, and possibly the best of 2014. I know Christopher Nolan is much deserving of an Oscar win, let alone a damn nominee, but Alejandro González Iñárritu has crafted something spectacular here. Interstellar was definitely a ambitious technical powerhouse of a movie, but Birdman, while being so different, is an ambitious technical powerhouse as well. It’s a movie much like Interstellar, because it deserves a second viewing to truly appreciate the work put in to this movie, and to see beneath all the layers.

There is so much to talk about for this movie. From being extremely self-referential, to a full on discussion of Riggan’s divine abilities. From it’s almost mockery of comic book films, and to it’s commentary on critics and their arrogance. Birdman is an extremely bold movie that takes flight with a passion. From it’s absolutely jaw-dropping camerawork, to it’s master class acting, Birdman is quite possibly the greatest movie of 2014, and one of the best movies I’ve ever seen.

Worth your two hours? Any fan of film is doing a disservice to themselves by not watching this movie. It is a spectacular piece of work, layered together with incredible direction, writing, cinematography, soundtrack, and most of all, it’s acting. It is easily one of THE must see movies of 2014.