| Product: |
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (DVD) |
| Date: |
07/08/07 (109 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Great script, well directed, intelligent
Disadvantages: Slow? Self indulgent?
There are actors in Hollywood who have a bad reputation with their colleagues. They drink too much, or they are overly opinionated. Being an awkward git has hampered many a career and stopped the likes of Brando getting as much work as he could have. One actor whose career stalled due to his negative attitude is Val Kilmer. He is known for being mean and sarcastic to his co stars and having a general disregard for the directors he has worked with. An actor whose career has been flawed by drink and drugs is Robert Downey Jr. Once upon a time in the early 90s both of these men where amongst a group of actors that were likely to go onto critical and commercial success. In their own ways they have managed to stunt their careers so I was very intrigued to see a film directed by the writer of ‘Lethal Weapon’ that starred these two together – surely the film must have imploded?
Harry (Downey Jr) is a small time thief who happens to stumble into an audition for a new and fresh actor. He is hired to go out to Hollywood and research alongside a gay PI called Perry for a role. Harry is fine with going along with the scam, but things take a turn for the worse when he and Perry stumble across the body of a young woman. Now Harry is the target of a mysterious group who want to frame him for murder. How does this case connect to his childhood sweetheart and a TV star? And more importantly how can he stay alive with all his fingers intact?
‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’ is a funny and interesting black comedy and it works on several levels. The director is Shane Black, a man that became fed up with the buddy cop movies that Hollywood churns out. The twist is that he is responsible for one of the most successful cop buddy movies ever and it makes this satire that much more biting. In many ways ‘KKBB’ is a typical buddy film, however, by making one lead a conman and the other a gay PI Black is able to interject far more humour and irrelevance into the film.
The film is also very intelligently directed and edited, having some of the best uses of voice over that I have seen for a while. Large portions of the film are narrated by Harry directly to the viewer and he knows that he is in a film. This allows him to reverse time and skip backwards and forwards as if he forgot to tell you something. This approach to the film works superbly and for me makes the film standout from the crowd as one to watch, especially for fans of film.
Black has supplemented his interesting concept, great direction and quality editing with a funny and intelligent script. There are plenty of funny jokes and great asides in this film that allow both Downey and Kilmer to bask in sardonic wit. However, the script is also a great noir homage. The story introduces us to the reluctant hero and the femme fatalle leaving a twisting and dark journey to uncover the reasons behind the young woman’s murder. I enjoyed the way that the film introduced a fan of noir novels then played on the stereotypes of the genre within the film. It is all done very well and does not delve into self appreciation like the overrated ‘Brick’ did.
The film has everything to make it great, but without good actors it could still fall flat. The entire film is a sideswipe at the generic films that Hollywood churns out so it is to the credit of Black that he decided to cast two highly talented, but fringe players. Downey and Kilmer are very well cast in this film. Downey has always been a great actor and he proves it again here, although he does turn on his ‘I’m Robert Downey Jr’ stick a little too much. The real revelation is Kilmer who proves that a sarcastic sense of humour can work great on film. He plays a very deadpan gay man that is very funny.
There are a couple of small issues that stop this from being an all out classic. Firstly, the film will not be to everyone’s taste, perhaps most people will not really like it. It’s a bit slow and the story can be a bit confusing at times. However, as a lover of film I just liked the way that it played with the medium and the fact that the script took the piss out of buddy cop movies. I also don’t think that this is a film that you should sit down and watch as a large group as the pace may make those with less attention span drift off.
Overall, ‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’ is a great film for those people who know and understand the art of film and also appreciate a good crime book/film. However, some people will probably find it a bit slow and self indulgent. I am not one of those people and having seen it twice I know that is a good film to watch for any cinephile.
Director: Shane Black
Year: 2005
Cert: 15
Starring: Robert Downey Jnr and Val Kilmer
Price: Amazon uk £4.97
Play.com £5.99
Extras
None that I can remember.
Summary: A great film for fans of film!
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