Movie's ratings

    12

    " Sex. Murder. Mystery. Welcome to the party."
    Country
    Runtime 1 hr 43 min
    Budget $15 000 000
    Premiere: World $15 785 458 September 6, 2005
    USA $4 243 756
    Other countries $11 541 702
    Box Office – Budget $785 458
    Premiere: USA $4 243 756 September 14, 2005
    first day $54 285
    theaters 226
    rollout 437 days
    Digital: World March 18, 2013
    Parental Advisory
    • Profanity

      plenty

    • Alcohol, Drugs & Smoking

      average

    • Violence & Gore

      average

    • Sex & Nudity

      average

    • Frightening & Intense Scenes

      few

    Production Companies
    Also Known As

    Description

    After being mistaken for an actor, a New York thief is sent to Hollywood to train under a private eye for a potential movie role, but the duo are thrown together with a struggling actress into a murder mystery.

    Сast and Crew

    Kiss Kiss Bang Bang: The Book Behind the Film

    About the Book

    The film "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" is based on the novel Bodies Are Where You Find Them by Brett Halliday. This book is part of the Michael Shayne series, which features a hard-boiled detective navigating through various mysteries and crimes.

    About the Author

    Brett Halliday is the pen name of Davis Dresser, an American author known for his detective novels. He created the character Michael Shayne, who became a popular figure in crime fiction, appearing in numerous books, films, and radio shows.

    Film Adaptation

    The film "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang," directed by Shane Black, takes inspiration from Halliday's novel but diverges significantly in terms of plot and character development. While the book provides the foundational elements of a detective story, the film incorporates a modern twist with a blend of comedy and crime, showcasing Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer in leading roles.

    Key Differences

      • Setting and Tone: The novel maintains a classic detective noir style, while the film introduces a more humorous and satirical tone.

      • Character Adaptation: The film's characters are loosely based on those in the book, with significant changes to fit the film's narrative style.

      • Plot Elements: While the core mystery remains, the film adds new subplots and character dynamics not present in the original novel.

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    Shane Black — Top Rated Movies

    Critique: 64

    80%
    51 5
    film.guardian.co.uk December 1, 2007

    As a slice of disposably self-referential entertainment, it more than earns its keep, and also acts as an effective witness-protection program...

    New Yorker October 24, 2005

    A slithery treat.

    Observer October 26, 2005

    Vulgar, noisy, pointless and stupid.

    online.wsj.com December 17, 2011

    [Robert Downey Jr. is] the quickest, sharpest, slyest and wryest comic actor on the screen.

    old.bfi.org.uk September 28, 2006

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

    Cheerful mess of a pulp-fiction parody.

    This tribute to old-fashioned hard-boiled detective fiction is laced with Hollywood satire and snappy, lightning-fast dialogue.

    Macabre, yes, but the movie’s also inventive and funny. You get a lot of smart bang-bang for your buck.

    Downey and Monaghan are wonderful at playing characters that compensate for the harshness of their past with flippant swaggers.

    Shane Black creates a movie that is defiantly smartass and too cool for the room. I couldn’t have liked it more.

    It’s rowdy, often tasteless and very much in the buddy-action vein of the scripts that made him famous, but in a much more comic spirit.

    USA Today October 20, 2005

    All three actors give it their all, but Monaghan stands out with a sexy yet oddly down-to-earth variation on the Midwest girl gone wrong, than...

    Black has concocted a zany detective dramedy, a jokey, nocturnal Chinatown and an amazingly, amusingly verbose movie, all banter and hard-as-n...

    Black’s retro-noir reminds us why we love movies: because they can surprise us, even when we’re ankle deep in bullet casings, bodies an...

    Times (UK) December 14, 2014

    A sarky, sniping film noir homage that assassinates the character of every LA archetype you could imagine.

    It’s a merry deconstructive delight and easily the best party in town.

    Chicago Reader November 27, 2007

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

    All three actors give it their all, but Monaghan stands out with a sexy yet oddly down-to-earth variation on the Midwest girl gone wrong, than...

    It’s also a doozy of a comedy, matching the dark wit of Ross MacDonald’s Lew Archer novels to the stylized theatrics of Matt Helm...

    Steeped in attitude - a smart-alecky, insider sarcasm that can be pretty clever at times, but also pretty insufferable.

    Orange County Register December 14, 2014

    Kiss Kiss is such a delightful bombardment, we barely notice that Black’s convoluted, serpentine plot doesn’t make a lick of...

    This is one of Downey’s most enjoyable performances, and one of Kilmer’s funniest. It’s a relationship comedy wrapped in sha...

    The movie is pretty damned funny in its insubstantial, gratuitously violent, gratuitously everything way.

    New York Times October 20, 2005

    Shane Black’s film noir is a movie with no particular reason for existing, a flashy, trifling throwaway whose surface cleverness masks&n...

    The Age (Australia) December 14, 2014

    A self-referential noir-screwball-action movie that never wears out its welcome – although it delights in taking that risk, over and over again.

    Globe and Mail October 21, 2005

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

    SFGATE October 28, 2005

    Black’s postmodern take lives up to its title, though an added Laugh Laugh might have said it all.

    articles.philly.com November 10, 2005

    While Downey’s rumpled insouciance jibes with the movie’s jaded, narcissistic tone, it’s a hard tone to take for a hundred m...

    Turns into a film that is too ostentatiously pleased with itself, so in love with its own cleverness it doesn’t notice it’s darn n...

    Robert Downey Jr. is perfect as Harry. He brings the right mix of cynicism, self-doubt, and unpretentiousness.

    One of the season’s most delightful surprises.

    Sydney Morning Herald January 17, 2006

    It convinces you that Black should have been directing his own scripts long before now.

    The picture’s great, fast-moving fun for the most part, and Kilmer gives his most appealing, relaxed, and amusing performance since "Real Geni...

    Black, who wrote "Lethal Weapon," makes his directorial debut, and he puts a fresh spin not only on that film but also on a whole slew of film...

    New York Post October 21, 2005

    A smart, hilarious and affec tionate spoof of detective movies – and Hollywood – starring the inspired team of Robert Downey Jr. and Val...

    It’s one nutty holiday fruitcake that is appetizing and tasty.

    AV Club October 20, 2005

    The movie itself may be the slyest bit of all, proving that it’s possible to come back not just adequately, but better than before.

    The sort of movie that believes coolness is next to godliness, Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang trades heavily and successfully on Downey’s unflappable l...

    Austin Chronicle December 10, 2005

    A trippy tribute to L.A. noir that blazes through its running time, a genre-busting blitzkrieg attack on Hollywood pretentiousness that’s jus...

    Once again making a diverting but insubstantial movie look better than it is, Downey, with haggard charm to burn, is winning all the way. Kilm...

    Rolling Stone September 9, 2005

    I couldn’t have liked it more.

    articles.latimes.com October 20, 2005

    Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang turns into a film that is too ostentatiously pleased with itself, so in love with its own cleverness it doesn’t not...

    The deliriously enjoyable noir comedy-thriller Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang does nothing by halves and everything by doubles.

    Has some hilarious moments and still succeeds in dramatic terms.

    BBC October 25, 2005

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

    The plot is thin: You’ll guess the villain early, then pick holes in story construction. But Black’s ear for mock-noir speeches doesn&r...

    Newsweek December 4, 2013

    Jumpy and ironic, Downey is a quicksilver delight and Kilmer is funny as the gay Perry.

    Amazingly and incessantly funny, a free-form riff on Hollywood shenanigans, the film noir genre and film in general.

    Black’s sadistic streak remains as uncomfortable as it ever was, and his direction is very much in the house style of producer Joel Silver. B...

    film.guardian.co.uk December 10, 2005

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

    Snappy, fun and outrageously irreverent, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is the work of someone with nothing to lose, which is only to the audience’s gain.

    I don’t think Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is an altogether bad movie. It’s just a movie with no particular reason for existing, a flashy...

    ReelViews October 17, 2005

    An entertaining, albeit eclectic and eccentric, mlange.

    The Atlantic December 14, 2014

    The plot of the film is almost willfully convoluted. But it’s also largely beside the point, an excuse for quite a few good scenes, most...

    Slant Magazine October 21, 2005

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

    Bold and breathless, this trippy, hilarious, know-it-all comedy-thriller will have you reliving its ironic spoils for days, but you’ll still...

    Boston.com October 21, 2005

    Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is a terrific one-night stand, but you may wake up, as Harry does, and wonder exactly who you slept with.

    Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang contains a lot of comedy and invention, but doesn’t much benefit from its clever style. The characters and plot are...

    The comic surface of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is all polished brilliance, with surprisingly few dull patches…The movie doesn’t deliver in the kiss...

    RogerEbert.com October 21, 2005

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

    The zingers come so fast and furious that if you miss a few (and even the most alert viewer will the first time), there are always more.

    Designed as a giant put-on, "Kiss Kiss" is so inside Hollywood, so anxious to bite the hand that fed Black, that it plays like an elabora...

    Christian Science Monitor October 20, 2005

    Raucously entertaining.

    One of the coolest and most memorable films of 2005 – I just want to see it again.

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    Quotes

    I peed on the corpse. Can they do, like, an ID from that?

    Look up 'idiot' in the dictionary. You know what you’ll find?

    No, I was just trying to figure out if I could take him.

    This is every shade of wrong.

    Harmony, you know what? You’re the girl who cried wolf.

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    friends impressions of the movie.

    Friends comments and ratings

    Watched

    McDonagh’s "Low Budget" two years before McDonagh’s breakthrough into cinema. A pleasant comedy detective story with an intriguing premise and a not-so-steep ending to make the film so twisted. Black overdid it with the script; the core of the story is simple, but with a lot of unnecessary details.

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    Watched

    A neo-noir buddy movie, distinguished by its bold plot twists, spectacular dark scenes and equally humorous

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    Watched

    I was left with a good impression. Absurdity, pleasant humor, excellent Val Kilmer and some of the director’s moves were very interesting.

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    Watched

    I liked the film because it has a solid detective story about two film industry workers, preparing for big roles, who get caught up in a series of murders. The comedic tone of the story breaks the drama, and the dialogue is quite good. Robert Downey and Michelle make a great on-screen couple. I highly recommend it. All the best.

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    Watched

    It’s a little absurd, but events follow each other without ceasing. Really funny jokes and Robert’s great charm are all very cool. It’s a bit of an acquired taste, and there is dark humor, but for me these are only advantages.

    Translated to English

    Watched

    While watching it, I felt like I was watching some "Due Date" or "Goodfellas". But the film is like any other film, I didn’t see anything special or outstanding, the plot and communication with the viewer are a bit twisted. A light crime comedy for the evening, nothing more.

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    Watching now

    The subtitles in this movie are deliberately trying to confuse you, and the dubbing doesn’t help much, I only realized towards the end that I hadn’t turned on Iron Man 3!

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    Watched

    A one-off comedy-detective with a storyline that could have been much shorter and much more interesting. 6.5 out of 10.

    Translated to English

    "Smack Smack Bang Bang" features excellent acting by Downey Jr. Kilmer looks good only in an ensemble with Downey. Michelle Monahan is great. The Last Action Hero style dialogue is memorable. The film is fast-paced, elegant, witty and worth watching.

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    Watched

    The film can be called post-noir – so cleverly and inventively it satirizes much of the aesthetics of noir detectives of the past. The plot, of course, picks up a wild pace of humorous turns, and then… it turns out that there is much less comedy. Because corpses, murders and failures… something like noir.

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    Watched

    Beautiful in detail, but too overloaded in the end. And the action, by the way, is boring. As in the future Nice Guys of this director.

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    Watched

    There was comedy, there was action, the detective did not disappoint, there was romance. Interesting to see)

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