Kiss or Kill (1997)

Lack of good storyline.

Just what I expected

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This film is a good example of what's bad with Australian Cinema: Blatantly imitating American Cinema, without understanding the how or why. This is a run-of-the-mill ripoff of your American killers-on-the-run road movie. They've got the usual blood and guts and gory throat slashings; That's pretty predictable in a movie I'm guessing they hoped would appeal to the American Market.Where "Kiss or Kill" fails is the characters. The leads are miserable, boring wretches. If they'd died driving their car off a cliff in the first 30 minutes, it would have been a better movie for it. The cops chasing them are, well, cops chasing them. The story is lame; killers on the run. Will the cops catch them? Who knows? Who cares? There is nothing to hold the viewer to this story.This movie came out at the same time as the mediocre "Men in Black II." I recall the Producer of "Kiss or Kill" complaining that in the face of this Hollywood Blockbuster, no one would see a poor little quality Aussie film. Well, I saw this and it was a disappointment. I did watch it through to the end, but it was tedious going. The production qualities and acting aren't bad; It's the lame story and script and uninspired direction that kills it.It's supposed to be a suspense, but for that to work you have to care. If "Silence of the Lambs" was 2 hours of nothing but blood and guts it would have bombed too. But what made that movie come alive was the characters and the script. If it was a Student Film, that could have been forgiven. But as an "Art House wannabe Blockbuster" it fails miserably.If you do like this genre, there are much better movies. 1 Star out of 4.

Day, Barry Langrishe, Chris Haywood, Andrew S. Gilbert, Max Cullen, Barry Otto. First impression is another road movie with two young lovers doing the Badlands. Director Bill Bennett is not that stupid. He has managed to add a twist in the genre, adding that extra spice. Yes, the fugitives are young and beautiful, with personality to keep one interested. But do they really know each other. Wherever they spend the night, a throat is sliced. Who could it be? Do they know each other that well? The entire movie is based on our perception of others. Do we really know much about our close ones. Even the detectives, (on the young lovers trail), have a moment over breakfast when one reveals a past the other never knew about. And for the general public, there is the character Zipper, an ex-footballer admired by everyone. But a video tape in the possession of our heroes reveals his inner evil. Matt and Frances do a fine job in a movie without a script, (they worked on a plot outline and the rest just happened). The great moments occur with the detectives played by Haywood and Gilbert, two skilled actors who bounce off each other so well that you sometimes feel as if you are watching a documentary. The technics used with the jump-cuts is an old one but works here. Just glad they didn't give us a picturesque of the Australian outback.

If Frances O'Connor and Matt Day don't get regular, steady acting work and eventually become big stars, I'll be very surprised. Despite all the other good things about "Kiss Or Kill", the two of them hold the movie together. O'Connor is sexy and tough, and Day is a solid leading man. The rest of the cast does a good job, especially the cops. The plot is a little loose, but it kind of makes you guess as to what's going on. In the end, this is a must see. Go rent it right away!!!

What was with the jump cuts in this movie? After a decent opening scene the rest was a great bore. Throw this one on the barbee!