Robert Downey Jr., Shannyn Sossamon, Val Kilmer

A petty thief (Downey) 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 (Monaghan) ...( read more  read more... )and a detective (Kilmer) who's been training him for his upcoming role.

Flixster Users

84% liked it

61,570 ratings

Critics

83% liked it

142 critics

R, 1 hr. 43 min.

Directed by: Shane Black

Release Date: October 21, 2005

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DVD Release Date: June 13, 2006

Stats: 10,746 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (10,746)


  • September 24, 2009
    well thought out script with some excellent quotes. tries to be like one of those old film noir thrillers and succeeds. mary castro, val kilmer and robert downey jr. all make an excellent partnership. well done to shane black for his directorial debut. he's usually a writer. he a...( read more)lso wrote the last boy scout as well as the lethal weapon series which i guess accounts for the humour. also an excellent climax. not one to miss!
  • September 13, 2009
    Harry: I peed on the corpse. Can they do, like, and ID from that?
    Perry: I'm sorry, you peed on...?
    Harry: On the corpse. My question is...
    Perry: No, my question. I get to go first. Why in plu-perfect hell would you pee on corpse?

    A very funny murder mystery mixed with...( read more) the setup of a buddy action flick. Shot with lots of style to feel akin to a neo noir, with classy yet modern soundtrack that's fitting.

    As much fun as the story is, the film survives through its dialog, the majority of which plays like a large inside joke, but it can still be hilarious with the right viewers, namely those who enjoy witty sarcasm and smart ass back talk.

    Mr. Frying Pan: Well now, here we all are. Ike, Mike and Mustard.
    Harry: What the hell does that mean?
    Mr. Fire: You know, I'm with him on this one man, that's pretty fuckin' obscure.
    Mr. Frying Pan: Horse shit, I hear that all the time.
    Mr. Fire: You do?
    Mr. Frying Pan: Yeah, sure.
    Mr. Fire: Where, at the 1942 club?

    The story revolves around a thief posing as an actor, who gets involved in the Hollywood life where he meets a private investigator, his former dream girl, and some seedy characters who all become involved in a pulpish crime mystery.

    Robert Downey Jr. as a thief/actor and Val Kilmer as a tough, gay guy have great chemistry together, and work as if they need a whole detective film series. Downey's narration throughout is also great with all the sarcastic beats to play to.

    Harry: [narrating] Anyway, by now you may wonder how I wound up here. Or, maybe not. Maybe you wonder how silly putty picks shit up from comic books. The point is, I don't see another Goddamn narrator, so pipe down.

    Further hilarity ensues due to how dark the comedy is, body parts are severed and misunderstandings of deaths come aplenty, making things all the merrier.

    Michelle Monaghan, as the femme fatal of the piece, is able to keep up with the leads, and is also very cute with some edge to her character making things all the better.

    Harmony: Well, for starters, she's been fucked more times than she's had a hot meal.
    Harry: Yeah, I heard about that. It was neck-and-neck and then she skipped lunch.

    The plot moves and twists around, but paying attention you can see a lot of it come through and still realize how hilariously dark this movie is. It's self aware nature mixed with the hilarious treatment of the buddy comedy aspect make this into a continually great movie to enjoy.

    B-Movie Actress: So what do you do for a living?
    Harry: Uh, I'm retired. I invented dice when I was a kid. How about you do?

    Every time someone spots this on my DVD rack and wonders what it is, I say we must watch it, and they end up enjoying it a lot. It is an underseen movie that deserves as big an audience as it can get.

    Harry: Is she dead?
    Perry: No, she's just resting her eyes for a minute. Of course she's fucking dead, her neck's broken.
  • September 3, 2009
    A Fast paced dark comedy, Downey Jr & Kilmer work really well together. A refreshing return from Mr Shane Black!
  • June 12, 2009
    This movie was not at all what I anticipated. The actors who were in it, the movie description, hell even the dvd case art led me to expect something completely different. What I actually ended up seeing was a weird combination that was odd and slightly amusing at the same time.
    ...( read more)
    My main problem was that Downey's narration just seemed so incredibly forced. The dialogue was supposed to be hip and catchy, but it just so unlike anything that actual people would say. It wasn't cool or interesting in a Tarantino kind of way, it was just distracting.

    I thought that the plot was needlessly convoluted. I actually thought that the movie was over twice before the actual ending came, and I think my score would have been higher if the movie would have actually ended at one of those earlier points. I get what Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang was trying to do, but I don't think that the movie came anywhere close to being the entertaining film that it could have been.
  • May 17, 2009
    I still think the title is stupid but I really enjoyed this movie mainly due to the fact its pretty darn funny and Downy, Jr and Kilmer are gold together. Plus with Shane Black both penning and directing this doesn't hurt either.
  • October 29, 2009
    A dark black comedy with a sharp story and confident and sarcastic chracters making it more edgy and natural, even with such a unplausable plot.
  • October 23, 2009
    Robert Downey Jr's back from the dead film. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is hillarious. Robert Downey Jr plays Harry, a new movie star doing a research for his new role. Therefore he must tag along Perry Van Shriek, a supercool gay detective played brilliantly by Vl Kilmer. Harry's stupi...( read more)dity always gets in Perry's way. But when Harry's childhood sweetheart, Harmony, comes bringing in a new case. Harry and Perry must start working together in a most unusual partnership.
  • October 19, 2009
    Perry : Look up "idiot" in the dictionary. You know what you'll find?
    Harry: A picture of me?

    hahaha, obviously one of the funniest movie ever, great sense of humour, great play by RDJ.,
    the beauty of sossamon and monaghan completes the movie..
  • October 14, 2009
    Epic movie lol, u gotta see this
  • October 1, 2009
    This movie is stupid and entertaining. make us thinking about the story. this movie is supported by good actor and actress, and a mixed story between comedy, action and thriller. great!

Critic Reviews


October 28, 2005
David Edelstein, Slate

Downey spins joyfully back and forth between farce and realism. Is there any leading man more fun to watch? full review

October 24, 2005
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker

A slithery treat. full review

October 21, 2005
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine

A silly, self-reflexive lark oozing spitfire sarcasm and nonchalant cool. full review

October 21, 2005
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

Pretty damned funny in its insubstantial, gratuitously violent, gratuitously everything way. full review

October 21, 2005
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang contains a lot of comedy and invention, but doesn't much benefit from its clever style. full review

October 20, 2005
Edward Havens, FilmJerk.com

The best director for Shane Black's unique style of writing just might be Shane Black. full review

October 20, 2005
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

Shane Black's film noir is a movie with no particular reason for existing, a flashy, trifling throwaway whose surface cleverness masks a self-infatuated credulity. full review

September 9, 2005
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

I couldn't have liked it more. full review

View more Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • Aria625
    October 2, 2007
    Great flick,great actors and funny as hell...
  • ThrghAGlassDarkly
    July 4, 2007
    Interesting cast and plot. I want to see this, almost rented this a while ago but changed mind not it's on my to watch list.
  • Melty4
    June 29, 2007
    best narrated movie since morgan freeman and the shawshank redemption
  • bugsbunnybabygurl09
    March 2, 2007
    Dis movie is supa funnii lol
  • roxoromg
    June 28, 2006
    Certainly one of the best films i saw last year, could be described as a funny film noir? i guess thats what its narratively closest to!
  • ElDuderinoLebowski
    June 19, 2006
    Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is is extremely unique, often hilarious and a load of fun. Kilmer, Downey and Monaghan make for a great team.
  • ewanpony
    June 13, 2006
    monaghan is fit
  • TheGunslinger
    June 12, 2006
    I'd tell you Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a shot of adrenaline in the arm for the genre, but the question is, WHICH genre? This movie couldn't be bothered to adhere to the conventions of one. Part comedy, part thriller, part commentary on Hollywood, I want to start a petition to create a fresh genre: "The Very Excellent Shane Black-esque Movie".
  • slinkster04
    June 11, 2006
    Full of unfunny sarcastic observations. Action scenes seem a bit out of place, and the narration became more of an annoyance as the movie went on
  • jerrynation
    June 8, 2006
    Im going to take the risk and said that Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is the best comedy i have ever seen in my life. If its not it deserves everything good. Big unstoppable laughs, great action, super original, the cast play awesome at this creative characters, man i cant wait to buy it and watch it again. Where have been hide Robert Downey Jr. the comedian all this time, man youre the best.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang Trivia


  • In what film do Val Kilmer and Robert Downey Jnr kiss?  Answer »
  • Which actor played a character called "Gay Perry" in the film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang?  Answer »
  • Name the actor that played in the following movie?? Kiss Kiss Bang Bang The Ghost and The Darkness The Doors The Saint  Answer »
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