Harry Lockhart (Downey) is a detective...oh, wait...back up. Harry is a crook turned actor who thinks he just landed the part of a detective in a movie. He makes the acquantance of private eye, Gay Perry (Kilmer), while studying for the role...and finds himself falling head-over-heels in love with his high school crush (now aspiring-actress), Harmony (Monaghan). Harmony thinks Harry's a detective, and needs him to be one when her sister is murdered...but that only makes things more complicated and humorous in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Based on the book "Bodies Are Where You Find Them" by Brett Halliday. (Suzanne Hodges)
Like the other Warner Home Video titles reviewed in this issue, the movie starts playing right away after putting the DVD into the Blu-ray Disc player, rather than defaulting to the main menu. There are special features, however, and they are the same ones as those on the HD DVD: commentary by Val Kilmer, Robert Downey Jr., and Shane Black; a four-minute gag reel; and the theatrical trailer.
The 2.38:1 MPEG-2-encoded Blu-ray Disc picture can look very good. Sharpness, detail, and definition are very nicely rendered throughout, with good shadow delineation and contrast. While the detail is impressive most of the time, there are moments when fine details are soft. The Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD images are very similar, although details in the shadows are slightly more impressive with the HD DVD release. This is a very good picture. (Danny Richelieu)
The Dolby® Digital 5.1-channel soundtrack is generally quiescent in nature, with surrounds often ignored in scenes where their use could be effective. Compared to the HD DVD's soundtrack, this encoding sounds slightly edgy, but it does sound better than the DVD. (Danny Richelieu)