The Nice guys is a dark comedy, buddy cop movie written and directed by Shane Black.The movie stars Ryan Gosling and Russel Crowe as Holland March and Jackson Healy respectively, and the movie follows these two on a unlikely team up to find a missing girl
Shane Black wrote the original Lethal Weapon and made his directorial debut with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang both movies which i absolutely loved i think they are both brilliant watches and anyone who has not seen any of Blacks work i highly recommend it (maybe ignore The Predator 2018). So when this movie came out it’s fair to say i was excited, and this was probably one of my favorite movies of 2016 i absolutely loved this movie,everything from story to the acting, from the visuals to the humour i loved it and i’ll break down each segment below.
First of the story, no major spoiler of course as mentioned above it follows Holland (Gosling) and Jackson (Crowe) one of which is a private eye and the other is a tough bruiser that beats people up for money, if you have seen any Russel Crowe movie you’ll know which one he is. However after they both get a tip off for a certain young lady they must team up and share their knowledge and different investigative techniques to solve the mystery. The plot is very cleverly written and as the movie progresses you can start to unwind the mystery yourself, if you are vigilant enough to spot the clues from point to point but it’s far from predictable and is only there for people who like to guess whodunnit which if you are not one of those people what are you watching a mystery movie for?. If you just want to sit back a relax and just watch a movie then this also work as you don’t have to pay attention to every little detail the movie wraps up the story and gives a explanation for itself without making the audience feel stupid with heavy exposition plot points and dialouge.
Crowe and Gosling are superb in the roles. Their chemistry, despite them being two completely different characters is just unmatched; they are both entertaining and just all around great characters who have great backstories and arches that feel complete and nothing feels like it was kept hung in the air. But the biggest positive is they are undeniably funny,and even though a lot of it is down to Shane Blacks writing I found myself in stitches in certain scenes especially with Gosling he just knocks it out of the park. Other actors include Kieth David and Kim Bassinger in supporting roles who also do a great job. But a stand out Angourie Rice (who you may know as Betty Brant in the Tom Holland Spiderman Movies) who plays Goslings on screen daughter and she may be one of the best child characters in a movie. She is given a lot of screen time and gives probably the best performance in the movie giving the two high profile stars a run for their money.
This movie is shot beautifully.it captured 1970s L.A perfectly (not that i ever saw it then…or now for that matter) and i actually felt like this could be set in the 70’s everything from the scenery to the costume department and even the dialogue made this feel like an authentic 70’s experience. One thing that shane black movies prove (even if it isn’t all that great) is that he knows how to direct, The Nice Guys is no exception) Black uses a mixture of quick cut editing to maybe tell a joke for example, something that happens early on in the movie involving Gosling ( I won’t spoil) or long ominous takes that raises the tension a little something that is done perfectly in the opening sequence ( A great scene that hooked me in straight away) and even the action sequences are really well done, None of that shaky cam garbage. It’s all really flawlessly done.
There is a few points i done have to make is that it does tend to feel that it goes on maybe 10-15mins too long there are definitely scenes in this movie that were stretched to fit the two hour runtime, and don’t get me wrong, 2 hours is a good time for a movie but it all depends on the story you are telling if you can tell me a great compelling story in an hour then colour me intrigued, the same way i would happily watch the extended edition of The Lord Of The Rings yes it’s on a tremendously long time but it’s needed to tell the story the wanted. But that is my only negative, it just feels a little stretched in places.
Final Score.
Title:Great
The Nice Guys is an exceptionally acted and written story and even with a few minor bumps, it never fails to keep me intrigued. That is all down to the talent of Shane Black behind the camera and Crowe and Gosling’s undeniable chemistry. All this adds up to a 70’s buddy cop movie that is definitely one to watch.
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