Michael Keaton is a washed-up actor who once played a superhero in a major motion picture and is making a desperate attempt to revive his career.
No, we're not talking about Keaton doing Birdman -- we're talking about Keaton in Birdman.
Keaton never wanted for steady work after playing the Caped Crusader in Tim Burton's Batman and Batman Returns, but it was an unremarkable run from that 1992 sequel until recently -- lots of roles, just not a lot of memorable ones. That seems to be turning around.
Keaton played a brilliant, duplicitous mogul in the middling Robocop reboot and a reclusive underground race-organizer in the middling Need for Speed. Though neither movie was a hit, both showed that Keaton is regaining some mainstream relevance.
But if we're gonna call this a comeback, it looks like it could come with Birdman.
Directed by Biutiful helmer Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman is the story of Riggan Thomson, who played the titular superhero more than two decades ago and is mounting a return to glory on the Broadway stage. He laments being recognized everywhere as Birdman -- something Keaton knows more than a little bit about -- and is facing down his own ego along the way, meta-meta something-something.
This is actually the international trailer for the film -- we've already had a much shorter look at it -- but this three-minute reel shows without question that Birdman aims to be an awards contender. With that director and strong ensemble cast (including Emma Stone, Edward Norton and Naomi Watts), it could fly.
Birdman opens Oct. 17.