Ok, so maybe it's a bit of a cheat, given that Birdman wasn't exactly based on a comic book property, but this genius film - which is in line for some probably unforeseen Oscar attention in a matter of weeks - counts as a comic book movie in a round-about sort of way. And by virtue of being brilliant it deserves to be counted on as many best of the year lists as possible. It's an odd affair to say the least, offering philosophical moments in spades and offering Michael Keaton a career reinvention that he didn't really need after Batman, but which for romantic purposes will now probably be classified as his post-Batman revival. And despite being a story of its own genesis, it's hard to resist the temptation to replace the Bird with the Bat, and imagine Alejandro González Iñárritu's film as a curious companion piece to Tim Burton's filmic pair (it's not just a coincidence after all). Regardless of that reading, the film is a genius thing: soaring when it is at its weirdest and most magical, and the portrait of Keaton as a man battling with not only his own past but also his fractured inner self is beautifully irresistible.
