I'll freely admit that I'm a total sucker for stories involving private investigators - especially when they unabashedly pay homage to pulp magazines and dime novels. I'm a huge fan of classic film noir pictures from the '40s and '50s, but I also have a soft spot for the amateur sleuth sub-genre. In fact, I think Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Veronica Mars might be two of my favorite examples of this type of neo-noir - due in large part to the pitch-perfect balance they strike between the hard-boiled & the humorous.

From what I've seen of Anchor Bay's upcoming thriller The Big Bang, it looks like this film could be right up my alley. It stars Antonio Banderas as Ned Cruz - a private eye who crosses paths with a host of colorful characters, while investigating the disappearance of a Russian boxer's girlfriend. Naturally, the case begins to take some unexpected turns and Cruz quickly realizes that he may have bit off more than he can chew.

The Big Bang caught my eye last month with its appropriately vintage looking one-sheet and its unusual premise. The film was directed by Tony Krantz from a script by Erik Jendresen (Band of Brothers) and co-stars Sienna Guillory (Resident Evil 5), Thomas Kretchmann, Autumn Reeser (No Ordinary Family), James Van Der Beek, William Fichtner , Robert Maillet (Immortals), Jimmi Simpson (Breakout Kings), Delroy Lindo and Sam Elliott.

We have an exclusive clip from the film that features Cruz's first meeting with the Russian boxer, but first - here's the full synopsis for The Big Bang:

Late one night, Los Angeles private investigator, Ned Cruz (Antonio Banderas) gets a visit from a recently paroled Russian boxer with an intriguing job offer: find Lexie, his missing girlfriend—and the 30-million dollar stash of diamonds she’s hiding. As Detective Cruz sets out to find her, the clues send him into the city’s seediest corners, from a Hollywood action star with a dirty little secret (James Van Der Beek), to an enterprising porn producer who takes a personal interest in his own work (Snoop Dogg), and a kinky waitress with an unusual fetish for particle physics (Autumn Reeser). Lexie proves to be as elusive as she is beautiful and Cruz becomes obsessed with finding her. With time running out, Cruz discovers the trail leads to reclusive billionaire (Sam Elliott), and his physicist (Jimmi Simpson), intent on recreating The Big Bang underneath the New Mexico desert. Tailed by a trio of cops also looking to find the missing diamonds, and with the body count piling up, Cruz soon realizes that what appeared to be a standard missing person’s case is anything but, and could quite possibly bring about the end of the world as we know it.

And here's the clip:

I've also seen the trailer for The Big Bang and it seems like the film has a slightly tongue-in-cheek tone (which I imagine will probably play much better once its viewed in its entirety). The character archetypes and production design definitely honor the mainstays of the genre, but there also seems to be a decidedly modern approach to the stylized visuals and the film's sense of humor. The Big Bang might not be anything groundbreaking, but it looks like it could be fun.

I like that Banderas isn't cut from the same cloth as the typical seedy private eye and I think he's surrounded by an incredible supporting cast. I've heard from those who have seen it that The Big Bang is definitely as quirky as it looks, but also quite funny and clever. I already know I'll be checking it out, but if that one-minute clip wasn't enough to grab your attention, maybe the trailer for the film will:

The Big Bang opens in theaters on May 13th.