By Robbie Jones
Shane Black is awesome. He wrote Lethal Weapon 1 and 2, The Last Boy Scout and even the enjoyable flop that is Last Action Hero, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Sadly, he’s only directed twice. You may have seen his second movie, Iron Man 3 earlier in the year, but it’s his first film that is true gold.
Also starring Robert Downey Jr, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang brings together a thief pretending to be an actor (Downey Jr), a private eye detective named Gay Perry (Val Kilmer), and a struggling actress (Michelle Monaghan) in a hilarious murder mystery.
Shane Black is awesome. He wrote Lethal Weapon 1 and 2, The Last Boy Scout and even the enjoyable flop that is Last Action Hero, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Sadly, he’s only directed twice. You may have seen his second movie, Iron Man 3 earlier in the year, but it’s his first film that is true gold.
Also starring Robert Downey Jr, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang brings together a thief pretending to be an actor (Downey Jr), a private eye detective named Gay Perry (Val Kilmer), and a struggling actress (Michelle Monaghan) in a hilarious murder mystery.
Like all of Black’s films, the humour is quick and very witty. There’s one exchange in particular that always makes me laugh:
Gay Perry: Go look up the word idiot in the dictionary; you know what you’ll find?
Harry: Picture of me?
Gay Perry: No, the definition of the word idiot, which you fucking are!
I have never been a fan of Val Kilmer but he is undeniably likeable in this movie. It’s mostly his chemistry with Robert Downey Jr. that really does it. RDJ pretty much plays his usual self, if toned down a little. Monaghan, whilst she certainly doesn’t give a bad performance, isn’t quite as memorable as the first two but still does the job ok.
Whilst being a comedy, the film maintains its murder mystery element really well, allowing for some genuine shocks. One issue I have with the film is that it gets old; I think maybe two watches is enough, and then after that it’ll become boring. Of course, I’m not really one to speak about that, seeing as I’ve only seen it once, but given the originality of the film I feel like it would end up this way. Never the less, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is an essential for comedy fans, for RDJ fans, and for film fans in general.
Watch it TONIGHT on ITV1 at 22:35 (UK Only). Let us know what you thought down in the comments!
Gay Perry: Go look up the word idiot in the dictionary; you know what you’ll find?
Harry: Picture of me?
Gay Perry: No, the definition of the word idiot, which you fucking are!
I have never been a fan of Val Kilmer but he is undeniably likeable in this movie. It’s mostly his chemistry with Robert Downey Jr. that really does it. RDJ pretty much plays his usual self, if toned down a little. Monaghan, whilst she certainly doesn’t give a bad performance, isn’t quite as memorable as the first two but still does the job ok.
Whilst being a comedy, the film maintains its murder mystery element really well, allowing for some genuine shocks. One issue I have with the film is that it gets old; I think maybe two watches is enough, and then after that it’ll become boring. Of course, I’m not really one to speak about that, seeing as I’ve only seen it once, but given the originality of the film I feel like it would end up this way. Never the less, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is an essential for comedy fans, for RDJ fans, and for film fans in general.
Watch it TONIGHT on ITV1 at 22:35 (UK Only). Let us know what you thought down in the comments!
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