By Terra Simms
Director and screenwriter: Shane Black
Starring: Robert Downey, Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan
Run time: 104 min.
Rating: R
Release date: In theaters
I have never been to Los Angeles, so I thought “Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang” could give me a little taste of what the city has to offer. Produced by Joel Silver (“The Matrix Trilogy”), “Kiss, Kiss” keeps you absorbed with visual stimuli, superb dialogue, and a plot easy to follow; a powerful combination rare in films today. These elements combined serve as worthy guide through the City of Angels.
This adventure-comedy won’t pack in the audiences, but the people who see it will enjoy the great acting and characters’ laughable reactions to unanticipated events.
Robert Downey, Jr., (“Good Night, Good Luck”, Gothika) identifies himself as the narrator at the beginning, immediately crafting a somewhat interactive experience between movie and moviegoer. Downey plays Harry Lockhart, a thief by trade in New York who stumbles, literally, upon an acting career that sends him to Los Angeles. Soon after his arrival, he meets Val Kilmer (“Alexander”). Kilmer portrays Perry Van Shrike, a.k.a. Gay Perry, a private investigator and movie consultant for would-be actors. The chemistry between Downey and Kilmer is comparable to that of any powerhouse duo in recent film history.
Party after party, empty conversation after empty conversation, Harry suddenly finds himself in the middle of two murder mysteries – not to mention beaten, missing a finger, morphed into a gunfighter and in love with an old high school sweetheart. The plot is easy to follow with one-liners and plot twists guiding the way. The dialogue is ripe with entertaining verbal traps. Downey is a great lead, while Kilmer brings a calm grace to the screen adding laughs that tickle and laughs that punch.
Director Shane Black, character writer for all four “Lethal Weapon” films, takes a new turn in making “Lethal Weapon 5.” All the elements are there: location, the dynamic duo, the love interest named Harmony Faith Lane (Michelle Monaghan), the cozy jazz music in the background, the murder mystery, and the quirky situations. With this film Black retains the adventure of “Lethal Weapon” but abandons the action-packed pace.
Black adapted the screenplay from Brett Halliday’s novel “Bodies Are Where You Find Them” in the old Hollywood film noir style, except in color. The film is executed well and acted well, but at an hour and 44 minutes, it still feels like almost two and half hours long.
Overall I loved the film. Downey and Kilmer produce some of the best on-screen comedic performances of their careers. After a summer of bad acting and bad movies, this film reminds movie lovers that there are actors who can act and writers who can write.
