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Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang Review



Overall 4.75 of 5 view all 4 reviews




Downey and Kilmer Are Great in Comic L.A. Neo-Noir
4 star rating

into Independent Films, into action flicks, waiting for the DVD, Lover of quirky, unique films, Movie guru, Blogger, a man, forty something
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Pros

    Great Dialogue, Good Performances


JUL
23
2008
When I graduated from college back in '87, I took a break from "quality lit" to immerse myself in paperback crime novels of the '40s and '50s. Along with reading the acknowledged masters of the dime novel, Jim Thompson, David Goodis, John D. McDonald, Mickey Spillane, and James M. Cain, I also read many of the also-rans in the private eye genre, who churned out formulaic pulp novels featuring the bastard sons of Phillip Marlowe: Wade Miller's Max Thursday, Richard Prather's Shell Scott, and Brett Halliday's Michael Shayne.

Although it takes its title from a book of film criticism by Pauline Kael, Shane's Black's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is based in part upon Brett Halliday's Michael Shayne mystery, Bodies Are Where You Find Them. Black made his name writing the screenplays of over-the-top action flicks like The Last Boy Scout and the first three Leathal Weapon films, and this film is his directorial debut. His hilarious script shows that he has developed into a much better, if more cynical, writer. The rapid-fire dialogue between Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer is some of the best hardboiled repartee heard since the 1940s (but with a lot more F words).

Downey plays Harry Lockhart, our narrator, a petty thief turned aspiring actor who takes "private detective lessons" from Gay Perry, played with by Kilmer. Michelle Monahan (Gone Baby Gone, The Bourne Supremacy) plays Harry's longtime crush, Harmony Faith Lane.

The wisecracks fly fast and furious as the violence escalates, and the preposterous plot twists and coincidences typical of the genre multiply. Downey's character breaks "the fourth wall" many times over the course of his narration, delivered with deadpan brilliance.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
is a highly enjoyable action thriller which didn't make a whole lot of money at the box office, but has since become a bit of a cult film, so I hope that Shane Black gets another shot at directing. He's come a long way since The Last Action Hero.

Last edited on Jul 23, 2008


I_thumb_up Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is recommended by jmdobies


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Jo wrote on Jul 23, 2008 at 6:13PM


Sounds good. Love thrillers...