Robert Downey Jr.'s comeback in Hollywood is often traced to 2008's Iron Man, but the groundwork was actually laid three years earlier by Shane Black's 2005 film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. At the time, Downey's career had been derailed by well-documented legal problems and struggles with addiction, and the darkly comic crime thriller became the vehicle that helped rehabilitate his standing in the industry, showcasing his rapid-fire delivery of Black's trademark witty dialogue.

The film casts Downey as Harry, a small-time criminal who stumbles into a Hollywood audition while on the run, and finds himself shadowing private detective "Gay" Perry, played by Val Kilmer, as research for the role. The pair are drawn into a convoluted murder mystery after discovering a body, while Harry also reconnects with a childhood love interest played by Michelle Monaghan. Blending noir sensibility with Black's self-aware, buddy-duo storytelling style, the film also marked Black's directorial debut following a career slump, and it proved a turning point for both men despite being largely overlooked today.