Val Kilmer passed away, and some folks were talking about his work in the RIP v2 thread. There may have been an old "crap/not crap" about him, but I didn't see one for the new iteration of the board.

When I was a teenager, some older, wiser, friends of mine proclaimed to me that Val Kilmer was the greatest actor of his generation. At the time I thought that was a patently absurd claim, intended to get a rise out of people than be taken seriously; it was difficult for me to believe because none of his roles, for lack of a better term, seemed particularly laudable to me.

What finally prompted me to take this assertion seriously was a trivia tidbit (I forget where I found it, maybe on IMDB? I haven't seen it since, or corroborated the information) that stated Bob Kane thought Val Kilmer was the most accurate reflection of how he envisioned Bruce Wayne/Batman. After that, I started to actually pay attention to his movies/acting and was convinced that my friends were right: he elevated every role he played, and even crap movies were made less crap by his presence.

I feel like he never got to fulfill his true potential, and we are all the poorer for it; Stanley Kubrick fucked up by not casting him in Full Metal Jacket.

I'm sad that he's no longer with us.

I watched Tombstone today. He's great in an otherwise pretty mixed-quality movie.
Also enjoyed him in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans.
NC

brephophagist wrote: Wed Apr 02, 2025 6:09 pm I watched Tombstone today. He's great in an otherwise pretty mixed-quality movie.

Yeah I can't imagine it holds up but I probably saw that movie at least 5 times. Who knows if Doc Holiday really sounded like that but Kilmer was so good you wanted to believe he did. Great at playing Morrison too, as silly as that movie was.

I guess he was a bit of a diva to work with but whatever. Greatest of his generation probably isn't a stretch if his peers were what.. Tom Cruise, Kevin Costner, and Nic Cage?

NC

penningtron wrote: Wed Apr 02, 2025 6:27 pm

brephophagist wrote: Wed Apr 02, 2025 6:09 pm I watched Tombstone today. He's great in an otherwise pretty mixed-quality movie.

Yeah I can't imagine it holds up but I probably saw that movie at least 5 times. Who knows if Doc Holiday really sounded like that but Kilmer was so good you wanted to believe he did. Great at playing Morrison too, as silly as that movie was.

I guess he was a bit of a diva to work with but whatever. Greatest of his generation probably isn't a stretch if his peers were what.. Tom Cruise, Kevin Costner, and Nic Cage?

NC

About 2:15 -



This is one of the best things that any human being has done on film ever.

Must have seen that film a couple of times before my mother passed, and just how true that line is hit me.

Hairy Caul wrote: Wed Apr 02, 2025 5:18 pm Val Kilmer passed away, and some folks were talking about his work in the RIP v2 thread. There may have been an old "crap/not crap" about him, but I didn't see one for the new iteration of the board.

When I was a teenager, some older, wiser, friends of mine proclaimed to me that Val Kilmer was the greatest actor of his generation. At the time I thought that was a patently absurd claim, intended to get a rise out of people than be taken seriously; it was difficult for me to believe because none of his roles, for lack of a better term, seemed particularly laudable to me.

What finally prompted me to take this assertion seriously was a trivia tidbit (I forget where I found it, maybe on IMDB? I haven't seen it since, or corroborated the information) that stated Bob Kane thought Val Kilmer was the most accurate reflection of how he envisioned Bruce Wayne/Batman. After that, I started to actually pay attention to his movies/acting and was convinced that my friends were right: he elevated every role he played, and even crap movies were made less crap by his presence.

I feel like he never got to fulfill his true potential, and we are all the poorer for it; Stanley Kubrick fucked up by not casting him in Full Metal Jacket.

I'm sad that he's no longer with us.

Right before this scene goes off the rails?



It is surprisingly solid.

(Even if it is clearly a rather blatant lift...)

Yeah, everyone's uncle and older brother told me the same thing about his Doc Holliday, but when saw Tombstone I found him so jarring and tonally-off with the rest of the movie. Dunno, didn't get the hype around it. I'm also not a fan of the "look at me, I'm acting" type, which luckily doesn't describe most of Kilmer's roles.

That Doors movie is a crock of shit but that's hardly the actors' fault.

Loved him in Heat, he's the perfect foil in Top Gun, and he was self-aware enough to play the villain in MacGruber. Hardly the best actor of a generation, but Not Crap and RIP.

NC ever.

Top Secret, Willow, Tombstone, Heat..

His doc is amazing. The guy REALLY was born to be an actor.

brephophagist wrote: Wed Apr 02, 2025 6:09 pm I watched Tombstone today. He's great in an otherwise pretty mixed-quality movie.
Also enjoyed him in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans.
NC

That is a really underrated movie for both Cage and Herzog. Val Kilmer was not crap.

Solid NC for his first film alone, Top Secret! Excellent in many other films as well. Goes without saying that his performance in Tombstone was spectacular. Tons of versatility.

I saw True Genius again after a long time....which is part of that quip-heavy National Lampoon type of 80's humor. What a weird movie, it's like Meatballs meets Dr. Strangelove. Very political. Val gave it his all.