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Movies / On DVD / Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

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Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2005)

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Reviews Counted:142

Fresh:118

Rotten:24

Average Rating:7.3/10

Consensus: Tongue-in-cheek satire blends well with entertaining action and spot-on performances in this dark, eclectic neo-noir homage.

Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: Harry Lockhart (ROBERT DOWNEY JR.) is basically a decent guy. Sure, he's a petty thief who skates through life on a shaky cocktail of dog-eared charm and cockeyed optimism, but he wants to do the... Harry Lockhart (ROBERT DOWNEY JR.) is basically a decent guy. Sure, he's a petty thief who skates through life on a shaky cocktail of dog-eared charm and cockeyed optimism, but he wants to do the right thing. He just doesn't know how, exactly. Harry's perpetual bad luck takes a turn for the better when he and his partner are doing some after-hours Christmas "shopping" at a New York City toy store and the security alarm breaks up the party. (Yeah, it sounds like trouble, but keep reading.) In making his frantic getaway from the cops, Harry inadvertently stumbles into an audition for a Hollywood detective movie, and faster than you can say Jack Robinson, the producer flies him to Los Angeles for a screen test. Thrust into the cutthroat world of L.A.'s pros, cons, losers and wannabes, Harry is teamed with tough-guy private eye Perry van Shrike (VAL KILMER), AKA "Gay Perry," to prepare him for his screen test. Gay Perry is ruthless, relentlessly tough and - you guessed it - gay. He also has little patience for Harry, who tries out his acting skills by passing himself off as a detective. It seems like nothing short of destiny when the thief-trying- to-be-an-actor- impersonating-a-detective crosses paths with Harmony Faith Lane (MICHELLE MONAGHAN), an aspiring actress who needs his help. Inspired by her hero Jonny Gossamer, a fictitious hard-boiled private eye featured in a series of pulp detective novels, Harmony moved to Hollywood to pursue her dreams...but a few years and a lot of rejections later, she's facing the harsh reality that her best days may be behind her. When the mysterious suicide of Harmony's sister intersects with a seemingly unrelated case that Harry and Gay Perry are investigating, they suddenly find themselves embroiled in a real-life murder mystery. Bodies surface and re-surface...long-buried family secrets erupt in present-day mayhem...and what began as a free trip to L.A. may result in Harry's one-way ticket to the city morgue. If he's going to stay alive and become the hero that Harmony needs him to be, Harry will have to convince a reluctant Gay Perry to help him solve the case. He'll need to channel Jonny Gossamer's tough-as-nails swagger. And a little dose of luck - or is it fate? - wouldn't hurt, either. --© Warner Bros. [More]

Starring: Robert Downey, Michelle Monaghan, Val Kilmer, Corbin Bernsen

Starring: Robert Downey, Michelle Monaghan, Val Kilmer, Corbin Bernsen

Director: Shane Black

Director: Shane Black
Screenwriter: Shane Black
Producer: Joel Silver, Steve Richards, Carrie Morrow, Susan Levin
Composer: John Ottman
Studio: Warner Bros.

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Reviews for Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Reviews
Tomatometer Critic Review Category
tomato

Saxon Bullock

A raucous mix of black comedy and noir thriller.

Full Review Source: | comment 1 Comment | Feb., 27 2008 12:43 PM

Channel 4 Film

tomato
4/5

Bold and breathless, this trippy, hilarious, know-it-all comedy-thriller will have you reliving its ironic spoils for days, but you’ll still be hard-pressed to nail the actual story.

Full Review Source: | comment 1 Comment | Feb., 27 2008 12:42 PM

Empire Magazine

tomato

Mark Kermode

As a slice of disposably self-referential entertainment, it more than earns its keep, and also acts as an effective witness-protection programme for two stars who were formerly more in need of a bullet than a kiss.

Full Review Source: | comment 1 Comment | Dec., 01 2007 03:39 AM

Observer [UK]

tomato

John Wrathall

It's the laugh-a-minute repartee of this odd couple that drives the movie far more than the ridiculously overly complicated plot.

Full Review Source: | comment 1 Comment | Sep., 28 2006 03:16 AM

Sight and Sound

tomato

Ben Walters

An ultra-knowing exercise in genre deconstruction, and something of a charmer to boot.

Full Review Source: | comment 1 Comment | Jun., 24 2006 03:46 AM

Time Out

tomato
4/5

Bold and breathless, this trippy, hilarious, know-it-all comedy-thriller will have you reliving its ironic spoils for days, but you’ll still be hard-pressed to nail the actual story.

Full Review Source: | comment 1 Comment | Apr., 01 2006 03:54 AM

Empire Magazine

tomato
4/5

Peter Bradshaw

A very writerly film, incessantly displaying a preoccupation with its own storytelling structure and cheekily blowing the lid off other movies' tropes and wiles.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 10 2005 04:02 AM

Guardian [UK]

tomato
4/5

Matthew Turner

Black is clearly having a huge amount of fun with the film and his witty script takes in everything from Chandleresque pulp novels to trashy Hollywood clichés and knowing in-jokes.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 29 2005 03:24 AM

ViewLondon

tomato
4/5

Andy Jacobs

[A] smart, hilarious blend of detective story and action film, relishing the viciously twisting plot and the chance to take sarcastic swipes at life in superficial Los Angeles.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 25 2005 03:15 AM

BBC

tomato
4/5

Rich Cline

Knowing, witty, clever and full of outrageously good action.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Sep., 30 2005 01:21 AM

Shadows on the Wall

tomato

Fernando F. Croce

An effervescent ride buoyed in no small amount by the agility of the actors

Full Review Source: | comment 1 Comment | Sep., 01 2009 12:03 PM

CinePassion

tomato
A-

Cole Smithey

Slick, sassy and downright delicious "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" is a royal cinematic treat.

Full Review Source: | comment 1 Comment | Apr., 16 2009 12:30 PM

ColeSmithey.com

tomato

Garth Franklin

This is how Hollywood action comedies should be done -- smart, fast and a hoot.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jan., 15 2008 03:15 AM

Dark Horizons

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J. R. Jones

[A] cheerful mess of a pulp-fiction parody, pumped full of laughs by Michelle Monaghan, Val Kilmer, and Robert Downey Jr.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Nov., 27 2007 07:20 PM

Chicago Reader

tomato

Christy Lemire

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is as much fun as the title suggests, and packed with banter that rolls off the tongue just as easily.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Nov., 27 2007 07:19 PM

Associated Press

tomato
3/4

Joe Lozito

A winkingly funny neo-noir treat.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jul., 14 2007 04:19 AM

Big Picture Big Sound

tomato
3/4

Forrest Hartman

A good time for folks who like Raymond Chandler novels and action movies with a quirky side.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 09 2006 05:00 PM

Reno Gazette-Journal

tomato
8/10

Jeffrey Chen

Goes for [snarky postmodernism] immediately, then, to my surprise, deftly pulls it off.

Full Review Source: | comment 1 Comment | Jun., 24 2006 12:10 PM

Window to the Movies

splat
C

Dennis Schwartz

It's a movie that becomes so taken with itself, that it seems to be doing the laughing instead of the viewer.

Full Review Source: | comment 2 Comments | Jun., 13 2006 06:26 PM

Ozus' World Movie Reviews

tomato
7/10

John J. Puccio

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang remains mostly on target, sending up old detective stories and contemporary cinema simultaneously,

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jun., 10 2006 11:29 AM

DVDTown.com

 
 
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Bubble View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
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Latest News for Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

February 17, 2006: 2 Afflecks and a Beauty Plan a "Baby"
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ben Affleck will soon be making his directorial debut on Miramax's "Gone, Baby Gone," a crime story adapted from the novel by... More...

December 23, 2005: San Diego, Vegas & Utah Critics Make Their Year-End Picks
Thanks again to MovieCityNews.com for keeping us up-to-date on all the year-end critics flick-picks. This time it's the San Diego, Las Vegas and Utah reviewers who share their... More...

December 22, 2005: Phoenix & Toronto Critics Offer Their Year-End Favorites
It's tough to keep up with all the critics' awards being tossed out this time of year, but Movie City News sure helps out a whole lot. This time we have the year-end picks from... More...

December 16, 2005: London Movie Critics Present Their '05 Nominations
Movie City News shares with us a press release from the London Film Critics Group in which their various nominations are announced. Keep in mind that the Brit crits use their... More...

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