91Èȱ¬

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang stars Robert Downey Jr as Harry Lockhart, a petty thief mistaken for an actor and whisked away to Hollywood where he's partnered with Val Kilmer's gay private eye, Gay Perry, for 'role research' that soon becomes worryingly real... The Last Boy Scout writer Shane Black makes his directorial debut with this smart, hilarious blend of detective story and action film, relishing the viciously twisting plot and the chance to take sarcastic swipes at life in superficial Los Angeles.

Don't bother trying to keep track of what's going on. It's not that Black's story makes no sense (although you can probably find holes in it). It's that if you concentrate too hard on the plot, you'll miss a lot of the terrific dialogue and surprisingly tender acting on display (particularly between Downey Jr and Michelle Monaghan, who plays his old high school crush, wannabe actress Harmony Faith Lane). There's a terrific chemistry between the characters, with Kilmer excellent as the openly gay, hard-nosed professional ("My employer pays me to insulate him from corpses") and Downey Jr giving an emotional centre to all the smart-assed one-liners and self-referential voiceover ("I'll be your narrator").

"A LOT MORE THAN JUST IN-JOKES"

Monaghan embraces the role of a sparky, self-aware young woman whose dreams are cracking apart - a part most young actresses in Hollywood would kill for (and relate to). If you're only a casual filmgoer you might find the smart-aleck tone grating, but there's a lot more to Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang than just in-jokes. For all the smarts and sarcasm, it definitely has soul.