‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’: the role that captures the wasted potential of Val Kilmer
In 2005, Val Kilmer made an impeccably groomed return to comedy in Shane Black’s riotous neo-noir crime caper Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. The movie received rave reviews from critics who had long held a candle for Black’s brand of pulpy, dime-store novel referencing action thrillers and were excited that the legendary scribe was finally making his directorial debut.
The lead role in the film was taken by Robert Downey Jr, who was on the comeback trail in Hollywood following his drug-fuelled run-ins with the law and was only three years away from conquering the world with Iron Man. Kilmer, on the other hand, was coming off a dicey spell where he was part of large-scale misfires like Alexander and The Missing, as well as a few low-rent thrillers like Mindhunters and Blind Horizon that didn’t make much of an impression.
Upon release, Black’s flick did everything it was supposed to do. It showed he could direct a snappy, exciting thriller with hilarious dialogue; it showed Downey Jr had the chops to make another serious run at being a Hollywood leading man; and it proved that Kilmer’s screen presence and razor-sharp delivery of a one-liner were as keenly observed as ever. There was just one problem: it went down in flames at the box office, and the only one of the three main players who seemed to suffer was Kilmer.
Instead of being a triumphant return to the big screen for a guy who was one of the most promising stars of the 1990s, Kilmer released three direct-to-video films that no one had ever heard of in 2006: Summer Love, Moscow Zero, and Played. Over the next few years, these cheap and not-so-cheerful efforts became Kilmer’s stock in trade: the man starred in six films in 2008 and seven in 2009 alone, few of which any fan could ever hope to name.
What happened? Why did his performance as Perry Van Shrike – a silver-tongued private investigator as quick with a savage putdown as he was with a handgun – not signal to Hollywood that Kilmer was back in business as a star? His sheer joy in playing Perry, a man who said things like, “I shot him with a small revolver I keep near my balls,” was infectious. It’s impossible to watch Kiss Kiss Bang Bang without a wry grin on your face at all times.
In truth, it doesn’t stand to reason that Kilmer’s potential was wasted in the wake of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang because anyone believed he didn’t have ‘it’ anymore. It couldn’t have been more obvious that he still had the X-factor needed to be a star. Sadly, the truth of why he found himself toiling away in relative obscurity after shooting one of his finest roles is probably nothing to do with his talents.
In the ’90s, Kilmer’s on-set behaviour rubbed many people the wrong way, leading to his being labelled difficult. However, Joel Schumacher once clarified, “I didn’t say Val was difficult to work with on Batman Forever. I said he was psychotic.” He wasn’t alone in that sentiment either, with the friction the actor constantly generated helping take the shine off his star.
Even if Kilmer had changed his ways by the mid-2000s and realised he could catch more Hollywood flies with honey than vinegar, it’s hard not to believe the damage had already been done. Reputations are important in Hollywood, as are relationships – and if you’ve burned too many bridges over the years, it can leave you pretty isolated.
In recent years, after his 2015 throat cancer diagnosis and a heartwarming cameo in Top Gun: Maverick, Kilmer has been welcomed back into the hearts of many. However, it’s mostly based on nostalgia and not the undeniable movie star potential he has always had. In that regard, it’s hard not to look at Kiss Kiss Bang Bang as a sliding doors moment in his career, where he had a glorious comeback in one timeline – but we’re stuck in the one with a bucketload of wasted potential instead.
