Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang was a movie I had heard about and seen trailers at the end of last year. I heard great things, and became even more intrigued when I heard it was written and directed by Shane Black, who created two characters who helped influence my love for film (those two obviously being Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh). But unfortunately, the film came out nowhere near me, and my hopes of seeing the film were basically sunk until the DVD came out. I waited in intense anticipation, and when it finally did come out, I did not hesitate to pick it up.
The film is about Harry Lockhart's (Robert Downey Jr.) accidental trip to L.A. Harry is a thief who manages to get away from the police only to stumble into an acting audition and wooing the studio executives. He gets the part, and is flown to L.A. where he meets "Gay" Perry (Val Kilmer), a private detective hired to help train Harry for his eventual part. On their first training session, they witness the dumping of a body, and things only become complicated as both characters become mixed up in the dumping. Adding to things is Harmony (Michelle Monaghan), Harry's old high school crush who only make things even more complicated for Harry. The film is told in chapters with narration from Downey Jr., frequently lapsing into flashback, freezeframing and backtracking moments.
Without ruining much more of the plot, Black has created a fine pseudo-take on the "buddy cop" genre. His screenplay is littered with thrilling moments and sequences of absolute dark hilarity. While not being a conventional buddy cop film, it has the familiar tired feelings, but feels more original than other entries in the genre. Downey Jr. and Kilmer are absolutely perfect in their roles, and have electrifying chemistry on the screen. Black's written words become so much stronger as the film goes on and these two actors play them out with the single best actor partnering of last year. Both perform excellently, and bring a sense of realism to their roles. Their charisma and class allows Black's script to truly shine. Monaghan, while obviously trying harder than the other two, has nowhere near the same amount of luck as they do in their performances. She comes off a tad bit weak in comparison, but still fares well in her role. The supporting cast, including the likes of Corbin Bernsen, Larry Miller and Shannon Sossamon are all great in their tiny roles as well.
While being in the "buddy cop" genre, the film does have a lot of film noir and pulp fiction added in, both for comedic and dramatic effect. The colour palette for the film is stunning, as are the costumes. If it was not for all of the hilarious moments in the film, this could have made for a fine hard-boiled detective thriller. It has the gritty makings for one, and has plenty of well choreographed sequences to boot. Much of Harry's satiric narration even feels as if it was taken right out of a pulp novel. The film takes from the old school noir elements, adding in elements of old detective stories and films, and adds its own twist to them in order to make them feel more contemporary. While the film is nowhere near as stylishly versed as Rodriguez, Tarantino and Miller's Sin City, it still breathes the same air. The seamless blend makes the film stronger, and much more memorable than others in the genre.
The film is obviously not perfect though. The shortcomings in Monaghan's character are coupled in by a few questionably unrealistic and silly moments in the screenplay. Some may even leave the audience slightly baffled for a few moments. While the lack of realism may work for the most part in the film's favour, the silly moments really take away from it. There are a few subplots that could have been done without, yet they work well in the final product.
My one question that still baffles me about the film is why Warner did not bother releasing it to a wider audience. It's a great little mainstream feeling indie film, oozing with style and fantastic performances from Downey Jr. and Kilmer. A definite candidate for most underrated film of 2005.
9/10.
The film is about Harry Lockhart's (Robert Downey Jr.) accidental trip to L.A. Harry is a thief who manages to get away from the police only to stumble into an acting audition and wooing the studio executives. He gets the part, and is flown to L.A. where he meets "Gay" Perry (Val Kilmer), a private detective hired to help train Harry for his eventual part. On their first training session, they witness the dumping of a body, and things only become complicated as both characters become mixed up in the dumping. Adding to things is Harmony (Michelle Monaghan), Harry's old high school crush who only make things even more complicated for Harry. The film is told in chapters with narration from Downey Jr., frequently lapsing into flashback, freezeframing and backtracking moments.
Without ruining much more of the plot, Black has created a fine pseudo-take on the "buddy cop" genre. His screenplay is littered with thrilling moments and sequences of absolute dark hilarity. While not being a conventional buddy cop film, it has the familiar tired feelings, but feels more original than other entries in the genre. Downey Jr. and Kilmer are absolutely perfect in their roles, and have electrifying chemistry on the screen. Black's written words become so much stronger as the film goes on and these two actors play them out with the single best actor partnering of last year. Both perform excellently, and bring a sense of realism to their roles. Their charisma and class allows Black's script to truly shine. Monaghan, while obviously trying harder than the other two, has nowhere near the same amount of luck as they do in their performances. She comes off a tad bit weak in comparison, but still fares well in her role. The supporting cast, including the likes of Corbin Bernsen, Larry Miller and Shannon Sossamon are all great in their tiny roles as well.
While being in the "buddy cop" genre, the film does have a lot of film noir and pulp fiction added in, both for comedic and dramatic effect. The colour palette for the film is stunning, as are the costumes. If it was not for all of the hilarious moments in the film, this could have made for a fine hard-boiled detective thriller. It has the gritty makings for one, and has plenty of well choreographed sequences to boot. Much of Harry's satiric narration even feels as if it was taken right out of a pulp novel. The film takes from the old school noir elements, adding in elements of old detective stories and films, and adds its own twist to them in order to make them feel more contemporary. While the film is nowhere near as stylishly versed as Rodriguez, Tarantino and Miller's Sin City, it still breathes the same air. The seamless blend makes the film stronger, and much more memorable than others in the genre.
The film is obviously not perfect though. The shortcomings in Monaghan's character are coupled in by a few questionably unrealistic and silly moments in the screenplay. Some may even leave the audience slightly baffled for a few moments. While the lack of realism may work for the most part in the film's favour, the silly moments really take away from it. There are a few subplots that could have been done without, yet they work well in the final product.
My one question that still baffles me about the film is why Warner did not bother releasing it to a wider audience. It's a great little mainstream feeling indie film, oozing with style and fantastic performances from Downey Jr. and Kilmer. A definite candidate for most underrated film of 2005.
9/10.