Review of Kiss Kiss... Bang Bang (1966) by Tyler M — 31 Mar 2012

This is every shade of wrong!

Highly stylized, film noir from start to confusing finish.

The Story: A thief turned actor turned private detective gets caught up in a murder plot, a kidnapping plot, and a few other things as well. It's really hard to explain everything about this film because it's so damned convoluted. Like Brick, or even Layer Cake, this falls into that category of film noir that could have been better if it wasn't so hard to keep track of. The imagery is great and the cinematography outstanding so even if you don't follow the story you can at least enjoy the pretty pictures. Also tagged with a great dark sense of humor to match an enjoyable if not slightly implausible narrative this one is a definite rental. The biggest problem though isn't it's hard to follow story, but the fact that most of it relies heavily on coincidences. The characters are brought together for a kind of reunion through no fault of they're own. Did that make any sense? Don't worry if it didn't it will.

The Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan... Robert Downey Jr, is Harry Lockhart thief/actor/PI. Accidentally stumbling into a small time acting career he finds himself in L.A taking detective lessons from Gay Perry and helping Harmony Faith Lane find out who killed her sister... He CAN act, who would've thought? He gives a good performance here, definitely the most likeable character in the film. Not the most attractive, but still the most likeable. Val Kilmer is Gay Perry, a detective... A gay detective, hence the name. On the trail of a murder and some other stuff. His story only adds to the confusion as he's the sharp one that knows the ins and outs of the criminal mind. He kind of serves as an explanation guy. Whenever there's a problem he's usually there to explain it to the audience. One of his better recent performances but it takes a fan to acknowledge his supposed greatness here. I'm not really a fan, but he does give a pretty convincing performance... Not so much as a gay man but as an ass PI. He could have been replaced with a number of other actors though, Denis Leary, Jack Nicholson, Kevin Spacey, even Chris Walken... But a good performance none the less. Michelle Monaghan is Harmony Faith Lane, the broad. What kind of film noir story doesn't have this character? Not the most original, but definitely the most attractive one. Spending equal amounts of time as a sex symbol as she does as an actual character. But objectified or not, she definitely gives a good performance if not outstanding performance... Okay, now back to the whole coincidence thing that might be confusing back in the story section... What do these characters all have in common? From what I understand and I could be slightly wrong, but these characters are all old friends brought together by "destiny"? If you go by the whole destiny plotline than it's implausibility is a little more forgivable but if you go by the fact that it's just weird than you'll be a little less forgiving.

One to Five Scale: 4.

It's entertaining, and stylish... And you all know by now that I'm a style whore, if something looks sleek and smooth I'm more inclined to enjoy it. Even if I can't entirely understand what's going on. It's a definite rental, and even a possible purchase. This one is one to keep your eyes open for, just make sure you watch it with your full attention because if you blink you might just miss something important.

Tyler.