Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is like a wildly expensive hooker who looks like she's worth millions yet is actually worth a hell of a lot less, but when the ride is so damn good you just can't complain and you'll be telling all your friends. Put another way, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang has a certain something which the murder mystery genre tends to lack - a sense of fun. So much so, that I was crying with laughter!

After an incredibly stylish opening credits sequence, we discover that Harry Lockheart (Downey Jr.) is our narrator and also a criminal. After breaking into a toy store to get his nephew a Christmas present, the alarm brings the attention of the police. Harry escapes only to stumble into a film audition. He miraculously gets the part and is immediately whisked off to LA to receive detective lessons for his role from private detective 'Gay' Perry Van Shrike (Kilmer). While at a party, Harry meets struggling actress and childhood friend Harmony Faith Lane (Monaghan) and stupidly explains that he is a private detective. However, it's not long before Harmony soon asks for his help when her sister is found dead.

All the trademarks of a cheap pulp murder mystery novel are here - deaths (obviously), sex, trashy clubs, a beautiful blonde who ought to be advertising shampoo, wrapped up corpses, crazy clues and more twists than a pole dancer on cocaine. Can you believe it; the film even predictably has a bad guy fall through a glass table. Ooh, how exciting! What makes this stand out is the genius that is writer Shane Black, responsible for Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout and The Long Kiss Goodnight. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang makes for Black's directorial debut and he must have a PhD in wit (a word a lot of critics will be using when describing this).

Robert Downey Jr. looks rough and downright cool as Harry Lockheart, the quintessential loser hero whom the young male audience will aspire to be. Harry is a good-hearted criminal (they do exist) who stumbles amidst the superficial gloss of Hollywood movie making and the murders taking place in LA. You can't help but root for him as he constantly tries to stay alive and make sense of the crazy scenario he's landed himself. This is a role that's likely to push Downey's career into overdrive, making him the next best thing... again... for the third time. Just like classic film noir, Harry also narrates the story, but what makes this all the more comical is that unlike the overused hard-boiled detective, who gives the audience a dark and moody voice-over, Harry can't even narrate properly!

That Val Kilmer makes for one tough homosexual, a welcome change of stereotype. Delivering a memorable performance as 'Gay' Perry, Kilmer is at his best when doing just about anything with Downey. Every one of their conversations raises a smile if not a laugh. With the right material, as seen here, he can handle humorous roles and this would certainly rank as one of his funniest. Michelle Monaghan is seductively charming as Harmony Faith Lane (which is what every parent ought to name their daughter). Coincidentally playing an up and coming actress, she'll definitely be catapulted into more work after this, since that's usually what happens to up and coming actresses who undress in a mainstream film. She manages to hold her own amongst the male leads mainly due to her character's nature to go out of her way for just about anything, thinking little about the consequences.

Not only does the film show us Black's love for the trashy detective novels and the murder mysteries of film noir, but his love and hate relationship with movies is also apparent. Taking the usual workings of what goes into the makings of a film, Black adds a new spin and manipulates these formulaic conventions such as narration, flashbacks, extras and credits. Can you say "post-modern" boys and girls? Movie buffs are likely to get a kick out of these 'self-aware' moments.

The film works as a showcase for Black to present his razor sharp wit during a number of absurdly thrilling and comic set pieces, each one clinging onto what is essentially a routine murder story as dense as the American government during a natural disaster. Unfortunately the fast pace leaves you with little time to piece all the clues together as the film skims over plot details. So much so that the lead characters have to do some obligatory explanations just to hook in anyone who is completely lost.

The brilliantly written characters and scenarios is what keeps one watching, but if a little more hot loving was given to the frequent twists and findings that occur then this could have pushed itself further as an eccentric little masterpiece. Still, where else will you come across the sight of Robert Downey Jr. hanging above a freeway by grabbing onto a corpse's hand sticking out of a coffin, which is somehow miraculously suspended in mid-air... only in a Shane Black film ladies and gentlemen!

Neat touches such as Perry's mobile phone ringtone, Downey making a sly remark about his past narcotics habit and a 'too-clever-for-its-own-damn-good' closing scene (which does look like it's been tacked on at the last minute) simply adds further icing on the already overly sweet cake.

The film treats you with its diverse absurdity and Shane Black's creativity of snowballing situations pumped with his remarkable talent for outlandish one-liners. Its fusing of a killer script and cool characters makes Kiss Kiss Bang Bang this year's Hot Ticket and one of those rare examples as to why I go to the cinema.

A lucky mistake shifts out-of-luck criminal Harry Lockhart (Robert Downey Jr) from the gritty streets to glossy showbiz in L.A, landing him a part in an upcoming film. Another mistake then shifts him from actor to private detective, and this is where Val Kilmer comes in and things start to go wrong, more wrong and unbelievably wrong until they've snowballed into an enjoyable detective mess -- all to impress failed actress Harmony (Next big thing: Michelle Monaghan).

Shane Black's directorial debut 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang' is a comic film noir. Even in the dazzling opening credits using a montage of contrasts of red, black and white, it is evident that this is no run-of-the-mill crime story, but a viciously entertaining ride from scene 01. What makes it so special is that it mixes equal doses of humour and crime like a $15,000,000 blender, pouring out a balanced end product and glazing it with a clever narrative coating by Robert Downey Jr. Black also sprinkles some rapid-fire dialogue onto his product, which is facilitated by the comedic chemistry between Downey and Kilmer. Some of the lines, gags and images are truly laugh-out-loud worthy. Everything else is nice, but forgettable.

Its only problem, as far as I can see it, is its paper-thin plot. It does not seem believable; it is complex, dizzying and not nearly as involving as it would like to be. So back to formula on that one, and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang would be a near-perfect comedy-thriller.

7.5/10

The immensely likable novel "Bodies are where you find them", written by Brett Halliday, has been adapted for the screen by Shane Black and the result is one of the funniest movies playing around. "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" boasts an amazing dialog with some of the wittiest lines of any film in recent memory.

The film pays a tremendous bonus to fans of the genre, which combines a detective story technique with some amusement and irony thrown in. The result is a fun time at the movies. Mr. Halliday pays tribute to those forgotten cheap pulp fiction novels that were so popular at one time in this country.

The director has to be congratulated for combining the talents of two actors that pay off in unexpected ways. Robert Downey Jr., one of the best film actors, is paired in this movie with Val Kilmer, who tends to play heavy roles, but has never been seen as he is shown in the movie. Both these men compliment one another in ways we didn't expect. The chemistry between them seems to indicate these two actors had a lot of fun while making the film, as it shows in the way they play against one another.

Lovely Michelle Monaghan is seen as Harmony, a beautiful young hopeful working her way up in Hollywood. Also in the cast Corbin Bernsen, who is seen as Harlan Dexter. Larry Miller has a few brief moments in the picture.

"Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" is a witty and intelligent film. Thanks to its director, Shane Black, it's a film to be treasured.