Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Shane Black, the creator of Lethal Weapon, directs his debut feature in this genre-blurring action-comedy-thriller starring Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer and Michelle Monaghan.

The story kicks off in bizarre fashion: Whilst running from the police, small-time crook Harry Lockhart (Downey Jr.) stumbles into a movie audition in New York, and somehow manages to snag a lead role in a big production. Before long he’s whisked off to LA where he is mentored by a real-life private eye named Gay Perry (Kilmer), to help develop his character, but things take a turn for the worse when they start encountering dead bodies and a very real mystery unfolds… Despite the odd premise, this film develops rapidly and has absolutely everything – laughs and gasps (often simultaneously), caustic unpredictability, gripping performances, stylish direction and a killer script that serves up a veritable cocktail of smart-arse metafiction (yes that’s a word). That might make it sound complicated but basically it’s worthy of Tarantino-esque status in terms of its iconic scenes, bloody-but-nonchalant violence and the resultant ironic hilarity that ensues.

In short, come see Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang – it’s the most outrageous fun you’ll have in L3 all year… To sum it up in one word it’s a trippyboldhilariousbreathlessviolentsexysmartsarcasticchaoticbloodydamngoodtime.

Mark Gibson