Kiss Kiss Bang
Bang is a neo-noir film with enough twists and turns to keep you hooked
and enough comedy to keep you smiling. It’s a good movie, and part of the fun
is being able to skip back to see where a twist started, the possible path it’s
taking, and where it ends.
Everything that makes this movie cool is right in front of you. You don’t have
to think hard to appreciate the on-screen chemistry between Val Kilmer and
Robert Downey Jr., which helped Downey get back into Hollywood’s good graces.
There’s also the scripting—it’s well done, and the movie is just the right
length to leave you wishing more happened and that it went on longer.
At a party,
Harry (Robert Downey Jr.) tells us how he ended up there. Harry was a burglar
who, while fleeing a toy store he was robbing, saw his colleague get shot.
The robbery incident put the police on Harry’s tail, and to evade them, he
ducked into an ongoing audition for actors. There, he pretended to be an actor
and unintentionally impressed the producers, landing a role as a detective.
Harry decided to play along and was asked to attend the party to meet P.I.
Perry (Val Kilmer), who was hired to give him on-the-job experience for his
detective role. At the party, he also runs into his childhood crush, Harmony.
During a
stakeout, they witness what looks like a murder, which takes the movie down a
path of murder investigation. Harmony hires Harry (thinking he’s a P.I.) to
investigate her sister’s death, which Harry somehow ties to the murder he
witnessed.
It’s easy to see
why this movie didn’t make much money at the box office. Even I, while watching
it, didn’t feel like it was a movie I’d want to see in a cinema. The movie’s
suspense and thrill make you want to have control—to rewind and see what
happened a few minutes ago.
The movie was produced by Joel Silver, someone who knows his stuff when it
comes to buddy-cop-like movies. Silver also produced memorable buddy-cop films
like 48
Hrs. (1982), the Lethal
Weapon series, and The
Last Boy Scout (1991). Silver’s other wildly memorable action
films include The Matrix trilogy and the first two Die Hard movies.
Shane Black wrote the screenplay and made his directorial debut with this film.
This is a good
movie to watch any time of the day. The thrill is cool to follow, and the
acting duo never tires of delivering a great performance.
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