In Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, writer and director Shane Black casts Robert Downey, Jr. as a thief who blunders into a film audition and, amazingly, walks away having won a role in the picture. To prepare for the role, he gets help from a private detective (Val Kilmer). And before long, dead bodies begin to accumulate.
David DiCerto (Catholic News Service) issues a strong caution about the film. "Fans of noir classics like Double Indemnity or The Big Sleep should be warned … that this film is full of graphic violence and bawdy humor—much of it revolving around Perry's homosexuality—and the kind of obscenity-riddled dialogue that would give Mickey Spillane pause." He praises Downey and Kilmer for their chemistry, but concludes that "from a moral standpoint, Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang shoots blanks."
At this writing, no other religious press film critics have published reviews, but mainstream reviews are mostly positive.
from Film Forum, 12/08/05Josh Hurst (Reveal) says, "For discerning audiences who have a taste for this sort of thing, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a pleasure—a celebration of cleverness that is memorable for the very reason that it laughs at its own emptiness, and a devilish comedy that's bound to join the ranks of Shaun of the Dead and Kung Fu Hustle as a cult classic."