Kiss Kiss Bang Bang Blu-ray delivers stunning video and great audio in this fan-pleasing Blu-ray release
Trying to escape capture for a robbery in which his partner and friend died, petty thief Harry Lockhart accidentally crashes an audition and poses as an actor. His breathless performance so impresses the producers that he gets the role. At a pre-filming party, he meets gay cop and sometime actor Perry Van Shrike, who is investigating the murder of a young woman. The two men agree to help each other out. The discovery that Lockhart's estranged childhood crush is involved is only the beginning of the tangled web of deceit.
For more about Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and the Kiss Kiss Bang Bang Blu-ray release, see the Kiss Kiss Bang Bang Blu-ray Review published by Martin Liebman on December 5, 2007 where this Blu-ray release scored 3.0 out of 5.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang strikes me as one of "those" movies that your average moviegoer
probably hasn't seen and it's likely a lot of them haven't heard of it. But those that have seen
the
film seem to love it and it has an aura of "cult" status around it. Ghost World (which I
liked) comes to mind as another recent example of such a film that failed to gain any traction at
the
box office but found success on the home video market and is subsequently praised almost
universally. I've seen quite a bit of praise floating
around for Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (82% fresh on rotten tomatoes) but I won't be among
those that liked the film. It's not necessarily a bad film. It just couldn't hold my
interest,
but that doesn't make it bad. I can recognize why people are drawn to it, and I made every effort
to try and like it, but I couldn't, and I probably never will. In fact, I watched it twice on
consecutive days for the purpose of this review. Neither viewing did anything for me. Sure, it's
somewhat
unique and told from a unique perspective. The story is original, the acting is fine, and the disc
looks and sounds great, but it never drew me in. I never connected with the characters, and the
film didn't touch me in any way.
Robert Downey, Jr. and Val Kilmer are on the case in 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.'
Robert Downey, Jr. plays Harry Lockhart, a small-time crook who, as the film opens, has broken
into
a toy store and is on the phone with his daughter searching for the toy she wants. Of course,
she
doesn't realize what he is up to, though she has her suspicions. As Harry and his partner leave
the
store, they are fired upon by a civilian. Harry is wounded and his accomplice is killed. Lockhart
flees the scene and accidentally finds
himself in the middle of an audition for a Hollywood movie. Harry's recent experience
parallels the script, and he releases his frustration and anger at the robbery gone amok,
impressing
the producers (who believe he is acting out the script), including Dabney Shaw (Larry Miller, The Ant Bully). Lockhart finds himself in
Hollywood
for
a screen test, and Shaw orders him to tag along with private eye Gay Perry (Val Kilmer, Deja Vu) to gain
some
real-world experience to aid him in his acting career.
Harmony (Michelle Monaghan, Mission: Impossible
III) is a
refugee from the dreary life of small-town Indiana. Inspired by the "Johnny Gossamer" series of
novels she purchased as a child, Harmony heads to Hollywood and finds herself a nearly failed
actress at age 34, having appeared in only one commercial. She and Harry were once childhood
buddies, and they reunite by chance. Harry lies to her, claiming to be a private eye, and when
Harmony's sister turns up dead, Harry takes her case despite being an "idiot" when it comes to
such matters. This case and the case Perry is working on intertwine, just like those in the
Gossamer novels, and Harry and Perry find themselves knee deep in murder, bodies, intrigue, and
shootouts.
I generally enjoy the more unique and chance-taking movies that come out of Hollywood, but
this one failed to hit home for me. There is a lot to like here, however. Downey, Jr. is great as
Harry (and the narrator). He knows he is in a movie and narrates it with a "gosh darnit, I
messed up, hold on" attitude. It's brilliant. His narrations point out Hollywood clichés, plot
contrivances, and plot devices, such as when he notes that a scene we just witnessed will prove
to
be important later in the movie. Kilmer and Monaghan are very good as well. The film never
takes itself seriously. It's as if it is a 100 minute inside joke, poking fun at the inner-workings of
Hollywood and the buddy cop genre. In fact, director Shane Black knows this genre all too well.
He has penned the scripts for Lethal Weapon and
The
Last Action Hero. The movie features a lot of humor, good acting and direction, very
well-staged action, and an original story. So why didn't I like it? I really don't know. The movie
never caught my interest despite it's generally positive qualities. It must just be one of those
"intangibles;" something in the gut said "this movie just isn't your cup of tea."
Lately, all of Warner's titles have been encoded in VC-1, but this title from early in their Blu-ray
release schedule is encoded with the MPEG-2 codec. Presented in 1080p and in its original 2.40:1
widescreen aspect ratio, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a great looking title. Colors are a bit muted
at the beginning, but as stated in the commentary track, this is intentional to give the film a
vintage
look so as to match the era the sequence takes place in. There is a high level of detail from the first
frame to the last. Black levels are remarkably solid and consistent, never wavering from this norm.
Color reproduction is astonishing. The entire palette is vibrant, consistent, and realistic. The print is
very clean, free of scratches, splotches, and jumps. This image looks very natural from beginning to
end. This is an excellent transfer and one of the best I have seen from Warner.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is presented with Warner's standard fare of the Dolby Digital 5.1 only
soundtrack. I was very impressed with this mix. It features good, crisp music and authoritative
bass. Dialogue comes through crystal clear. Gun shots are loud and powerful. Surrounds are
pretty active in the more sonically-intense scenes, especially during action sequences and while in
locations heavy in ambience such as a party and at a bar. This is a track that shows what a
well-mixed Dolby Digital track can do. Would I prefer a lossless option? You bet, but this one
sounds
pretty good nevertheless.
The only supplement to really speak of is the feature commentary track with Val Kilmer, Robert
Downey, Jr., and Shane Black. This is a pretty laid back track. The trio has an awful lot of fun
throughout, making fun of each other and the movie. There is not much in the way of the
nitty-gritty of the behind-the-scenes and making-of the movie, but that's OK. We don't always
need to
know how every shot was constructed. This track is meant to be more like watching the movie
with some
friends, and it's good for what it is. Also included is a gag reel (480p, 4:19) and the film's theatrical
trailer (480p, 2:16). And that's it. This is a film that grossed less than a third of its budget at the
box office but it is gaining more and more notoriety on home video formats. I wouldn't be surprised
to see Kiss Kiss Bang Bang released again down the road as a more complete special
edition.
I'm still perplexed as to what happened to make me not like this movie. It happens, I guess.
Movies are such a personal thing, and reviewing them, especially the content, is a purely subjective
and oftentimes daunting undertaking. It's hard to go against the grain, but you've got to stand
behind your instincts, and mine tell me that Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a film I won't be
revisiting in the future. As far as the Blu-ray goes, it's severely lacking in extras but it looks and
sounds great. I'm going to go ahead and recommend you see Kiss Kiss Bang Bang one way
or another. I am suggesting you either rent or purchase the film on Blu-ray, but not
recommending one over the other. There
is some very funny and unique things going on in this movie, and chances are you'll be among the
vast majority of folks who see it and like it.
