Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Tonight I went to see Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and the Tom verdict is - it was tremendous. The directorial debut of the creator of Lethal Weapon, Shane Black this is the film that you'd expect from him when he's been allowed free reign.

Black is something of a maverick in the movie business. He became famous for the massive cheques he picked up for his screenplays, which weren't always made the way he would have wanted. Mel Gibson's Riggs dies in his original draft of Lethal Weapon 2 for example. So when he got the chance to make a movie his way it was never going to be conventional.

It's all done with a knowing wink to the audience. 'Hey this is a movie and you know what? It's a daft movie." Robert Downey Jr and Val Kilmer make a surprisingly excellent pairing. The action rolls along at a cracking pace and the dialogue and knowing nods to movie conventions make it gripping stuff.

There are several hilarious set pieces including one death that had the audience I was in laughing for about 5 minutes as well as a gag on a movie cliche at the end that had me howling.

If you've not yet seen it, get yourself along to the cinema now.

Here's an interview with Shane Black about the film and his career.