Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Shane Black is a good writer. Judging by Kiss Kiss Bang bang he is also a fantastic director. This dark comedy is an incredibly underrated comedy and showcases the powerhouse talent of Val Kilmer, Robert Downey Jr. and Shane Black. Laden with one liners and throwaway jokes Kiss Kiss Bang bang should be re watched to get everything in, for only one viewing is not enough. Perhaps this is the reason the film underperformed at the box office. If you are a fan of Robert Downey Jr. you owe it to yourself to watch this film.

The term "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" was first coined in the 1960s by the Japanese press as a nickname for James Bond. Director Shane Black loved the term and chose it as the movie's title because, "it so clearly represented what this film is." And what exactly is this film? Good question. For starters, it's original. It's a nice change of pace from all of the sequels and remakes we've been inundated with recently. I needed this breath of fresh air after being blind-sided by the news that a remake of Robocop might be on its way.

It's also funny and action-packed. The pace comes at us almost as quickly as the clever dialogue, making it nearly impossible for the average viewer to get bored. You may be offended, you may not appreciate the dark humor, and you may not get the style, but I would predict the majority of you won't get bored. Will I refund your ticket money if you *do* get bored? No, absolutely not. Don't be silly. I'll just say, "Oh well, I guess you're just in the minority on this one!" What I like most about Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is it's so hard to "genre-lize." See what I did there? Add that term to the Movie Mark Dictionary. When you can't "genre-lize" something then you can't easily force it into any one specific genre. Clever, huh? That's what makes Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang so fun. Is there action? Yes! After all, it's by the same guy who wrote the Lethal Weapon movies. But it's not an action movie.

Is there humor? Indeed. The laughs mostly come from the chemistry between Val Kilmer and Robert Downey Jr. and some of the crazy situations they find themselves in. This is my kind of dark humor. I love to be caught off guard by unexpected moments that make me laugh at things that might not be so funny if they were witnessed in the real world. But this isn't a comedy. The humor is never forced and doesn't have to resort to slapstick or flatulent puppies just to get cheap laughs. Sure, there's a scene that involves peeing on a corpse, but it has to be seen in its context to be appreciated.

If I were forced to affix a label to this then I suppose I'd say it's a darkly comedic murder mystery. It takes itself just seriously enough to keep you in suspense, but it's irreverent enough to simply be fun and entertaining. It works well enough as a farce without ever coming off as a pure parody.

My main complaint is that the story does get a little too confusing. I admit that I openly mocked other reviews that called the story "needlessly complex," but now that I have seen it I totally understand what these reviews are talking about. You'll want to pay careful attention or you'll get lost pretty quickly. I'd even suggest taking notes. If you're not careful you'll become so immersed with keeping up with the rapid-fire dialogue that you could lose focus on the plot details. It's not mind-blowing, but there are just so many characters and minutiae to keep up with that it's easy to lose track of what exactly is going on. If your friends call you "ol' goldfish attention span" then you could be in trouble.

I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that this movie is for everybody. The language gets pretty rough, there is strong sexual content, Val Kilmer is a detective who just happens to be gay and jokes are made at his expense, there's a decent amount of gunplay, and some people just might not appreciate the unconventionality on display.

But I loved the fact that this wasn't formulaic and that the look and style was different than the norm. Black admits to de-saturating the colors in post-production to give the film a crude, rough look. Perhaps some might like their movies a little more bright, but I thought it was quite effective at giving the film the pulp detective story vibe that Black was going for.

I wouldn't recommend this to my mother, so I won't pretend to know whether this fits *your* taste either. It all depends on how you view these kinds of things. Is it gratuitous or knowingly over-the-top? Clever or too clever for its own good? Cheesy or comfortable in its self-awareness? Ask yourself what it takes to offend your senses and let that be your guide.

Without a doubt I thought that this was truly entertaining film. I only managed to catch it at my local cinema in a one off showing, but I really wasn't disappointed.

Me and my friend went in the film not truly understanding what to expect. Basically it cracks down to Robert Downey Jr. starting the film off as a burglar, after being shot at he accidentally runs into an acting audition. Breaking down with tears in the office, he accidentally gets the acting job and whisked off to Hollywood with hopes of playing a detective in an upcoming film.

Cue Gay Perry a.k.a Val Kilmer who is fantastic in this film with his dry wit and humour adding some hilarious scenes to this film. He plays a gay detective assigned to help train up Robert Downey Jr. The pair of them get sucked into a story starting with discovery of a corpse and building into deeper plot involving kidnapping and murder. The plot line is genuinely well crafted, and is explored in the perfect amount of depth. It is quite simply littered with many funny moments. Probably the favourite of mine being the running joke of the gay detective through the film, involving the 'faggot' gun. Shane Black directs this film superbly, keeping it alive with sharp wit.

The whole cast clicks together perfectly with Robert Downey Jr and Val Kilmer shining with good support coming from Michelle Monaghan. The film is accompanied by a very light hearted narration from Robert Downey Jr. which makes the film that even bit more engaging.

Overall, a quirky, very amusing film, with a superb cast, and with a run time of 99 minutes, you simply can't afford to miss it.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang... A solid 10/10

KKBB was shown at the Fantasy Filmfest in Germany. This festival for horror, sci-fi and thrillers is touring Germany in several big cities. KKBB was the opening movie in Cologne and it got a feverish applause after wards.

I can only say that this movie is one of the biggest surprises in the Action/Thriller/Comedy-Genre in the last years. If you liked Black's scripts for Last Boy Scout, Long Kiss Goodnight, Lethal Weapon etc. for their tongue in cheek humor, wicked dialogues and sick ideas, you're gonna love this movie.

The cast delivers and gets the movie going. I don't want to spoil it for you, but Black still has some very cool one-liners and dialogue. Downey Jr is really amazing in this role as your typical looser-criminal kind of guy.

The film struggles a bit at the end, but it was so much fun to watch nonetheless. The Teaser Trailer came out today, so you might want to watch that. Luckily doesn't already show you the best parts.

I really hope that this movie attracts a big audience, because Black has definitely written and directed a highly entertaining movie, showing you Hollywood behind the scenes. Watch this movie!

A lucky mistake shifts out-of-luck criminal Harry Lockhart (Robert Downey Jr) from the gritty streets to glossy showbiz in L.A, landing him a part in an upcoming film. Another mistake then shifts him from actor to private detective, and this is where Val Kilmer comes in and things start to go wrong, more wrong and unbelievably wrong until they've snowballed into an enjoyable detective mess -- all to impress failed actress Harmony (Next big thing: Michelle Monaghan).

Shane Black's directorial debut 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang' is a comic film noir. Even in the dazzling opening credits using a montage of contrasts of red, black and white, it is evident that this is no run-of-the-mill crime story, but a viciously entertaining ride from scene 01. What makes it so special is that it mixes equal doses of humour and crime like a $15,000,000 blender, pouring out a balanced end product and glazing it with a clever narrative coating by Robert Downey Jr. Black also sprinkles some rapid-fire dialogue onto his product, which is facilitated by the comedic chemistry between Downey and Kilmer. Some of the lines, gags and images are truly laugh-out-loud worthy. Everything else is nice, but forgettable.

Its only problem, as far as I can see it, is its paper-thin plot. It does not seem believable; it is complex, dizzying and not nearly as involving as it would like to be. So back to formula on that one, and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang would be a near-perfect comedy-thriller.

7.5/10