After being mistaken for an actor, a New York thief is sent to Hollywood to train under a private eye for a potential movie role, but the duo are thrown together with a struggling actress in... Read allAfter being mistaken for an actor, a New York thief is sent to Hollywood to train under a private eye for a potential movie role, but the duo are thrown together with a struggling actress into a murder mystery.After being mistaken for an actor, a New York thief is sent to Hollywood to train under a private eye for a potential movie role, but the duo are thrown together with a struggling actress into a murder mystery.
- Awards
- 5 wins & 16 nominations total
Featured reviews
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.
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
The film is very self-aware. It is not afraid to break the fourth wall with its narration. I'm not always the biggest fan of narration but it works reasonably well here. In particular because the story is pretty darn complex, so it is good to have a guiding voice that can clear the odd thing up.
The film is boosted by a great cast. Robert Down Jr. And Val Kilmer were perfectly suited for their roles. Kilmer in his prime was such a treat to watch. I had a good time with this one. 7/10.
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!
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAs a show of support for Robert Downey Jr.'s recovery from alcohol and drugs, Val Kilmer refused to drink during the entire production.
- GoofsThe microsurgery needed to reattach Harry's finger is too complicated and extensive for an emergency room visit; it likely would require a hospital stay of days, if not weeks.
- Quotes
Perry: My $2000 ceramic Vektor my mother got me as a special gift. You threw in the lake next to the car. What happens when they drag the lake? You think they'll find my pistol. Jesus. Look up "idiot" in the dictionary. You know what you'll find?
Harry: A picture of me?
Perry: No! The definition of the word idiot, which you fucking are!
- Crazy creditsAt the end of the movie, Val Kilmer says not to leave, to stay and watch the credits, and if you're wondering who the Best Boy is, he's someone's nephew. (The actual Best Boy credit is Jack Bauer.)
- ConnectionsFeatured in Great Movie Mistakes 2: The Sequel (2011)
- SoundtracksSleigh Ride
Written by Leroy Anderson and Mitchell Parish (uncredited)
Performed by Al Caiola & Riz Ortolani
Courtesy of EMI Records
Under License from EMI Film & Television Music
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Entre besos y tiros
- Filming locations
- Monumental sculpture "Double Ascension" 1973 Herbert Bayer 505 South Flower St, Los Angeles, California USA(shown through window of Standard Hotel)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $15,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $4,243,756
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $180,660
- Oct 23, 2005
- Gross worldwide
- $15,785,458
- Runtime1 hour 43 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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