Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
A petty thief posing as an actor is brought to Los Angeles for an unlikely audition and finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation along with his high school dream girl and a detective who's been training him for his upcoming role...
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a sharp, self-aware neo-noir comedy that showcases Shane Black's razor-sharp wit and meta-narrative playfulness. Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer deliver genuinely excellent, crackling performances with impeccable comic timing and real chemistry. The film's novelty is high — its fourth-wall-breaking narration, genre deconstruction, and distinctly acidic LA voice make it unmistakably singular. The plot is fun but deliberately convoluted in a way that occasionally loses the thread, landing solidly above average without being airtight. Cinematography is competent and stylish but not visually ambitious beyond its genre trappings. The ending wraps things up satisfactorily but leans on contrivance, feeling slightly rushed compared to the brilliance of what precedes it.