Director Shane Black seems to have decided it was possible to make a film noir movie that is also a *parody* of film noir films, and he turns out to have been right. Divided into chapters titled after Raymond Chandler novels, the film follows petty criminal turned aspiring actor Downey as he gets involved with a witty detective (excellently played by Kilmer) and a sexy actress (Monaghan).
Downey is a bit of a sad sack into the movie, clueless and rash, and while his performance is quite different, it reminded me a bit of Bob Hope film noir take-offs. The movie often mocks film conventions, most notably with Downey's sloppy narration, and while it is sometimes overly gimmicky, I generally thought it worked.
Unlike those old Hope movies, KKBB takes its noir seriously. The plot is complex and moves fast but actually holds up much better than Chandler's often incomprehensible stories, and the action and suspense are very well done, both exciting and funny. The film takes the noir conventions it likes but tosses the ones that seem archaic; in a 40s movie Monaghan would have been a mysterious femme fatale, but here she's more an action- hero version of Nancy Drew.
I'm kind of torn between giving this movie a 7 and an 8. I really like it, but somehow I never quite *loved* it, perhaps because the gimmicky stuff distances you from the visceral stuff. But it's really enjoyable and I highly recommend it.
Downey is a bit of a sad sack into the movie, clueless and rash, and while his performance is quite different, it reminded me a bit of Bob Hope film noir take-offs. The movie often mocks film conventions, most notably with Downey's sloppy narration, and while it is sometimes overly gimmicky, I generally thought it worked.
Unlike those old Hope movies, KKBB takes its noir seriously. The plot is complex and moves fast but actually holds up much better than Chandler's often incomprehensible stories, and the action and suspense are very well done, both exciting and funny. The film takes the noir conventions it likes but tosses the ones that seem archaic; in a 40s movie Monaghan would have been a mysterious femme fatale, but here she's more an action- hero version of Nancy Drew.
I'm kind of torn between giving this movie a 7 and an 8. I really like it, but somehow I never quite *loved* it, perhaps because the gimmicky stuff distances you from the visceral stuff. But it's really enjoyable and I highly recommend it.