The fourth wall is entirely absent as our protagonist Harry Lockhart (Downey Jr.) pauses and rewinds the movie at will to offer ironic exposition and snarky insights with the air of an eccentric film school professor on his last day at the job. Things only get more self-referential from here. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is about as meta as it gets: its very title comes from esteemed film critic Pauline Kael, who saw the phrase on an Italian film poster and seized on it as a sad indictment of the shallow appeal of modern cinema. has called it ‘the best film ever done’, and many Shane Black fans (myself included) maintain that it is some of his best work - high praise indeed for the man who also gave us Lethal Weapon (1987), The Last Boy Scout (1991), and The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996).
“This film is a sarcastic love letter to film noir”ĭespite its role in the miraculous resurgence of Downey Jr.’s career - not to mention a standing ovation at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival - Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang didn’t enjoy much commercial success, only just breaking even on its $15 million budget. got the part, and his turn as the film’s sardonic protagonist (and part-time narrator) caught the eye of Iron Man director Jon Favreau. It was his now-wife, née Susan Levin, who convinced him to audition for Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, which her colleague Joel Silver was producing. After a very public battle with addiction, Downey Jr.’s career came to a halt in 2001 when he was fired from Ally McBeal following a series of drug charges. now the face of the biggest movie franchise in the world - could walk into an audition room as an underdog. It’s hard to imagine a time when Robert Downey Jr.