The Nice Guys Review

     Good directors put a stamp on their films. Often when watching prestigious directors such as Spielberg or Kubrick, you recognize the technical and tonal elements that they incorporate into their movies. Shane Black is one of those directors. While his first film, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang not only critically but with the fans as well, while Iron Man 3 had very mixed reviews. Fortunately, Black certainly picked up from where he left off in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang with his newest film, The Nice Guys. The Nice Guys is a thrilling story and a great homage to the 1970's L.A. crime drama genre.
     The Nice Guys tells the story of an unlikely pair of P.I.'s, played by Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe, investigating the mysterious death of a diminishing porn star. When the death is not all it seems, they will learn that there is much more at hand in this particular case.

     The Nice Guys makes the city of Los Angeles feel like its own character. It's a great throwback to the time and visually the cinematography looks very good. However a setting is only as good with the characters that surround it and The Nice Guys provides great character performances. Holland March (Ryan Gosling) is a single father who struggles with alcoholism and Gosling pulls off the character perfectly. Much like Robert Downey Jr. in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Gosling bumbles his way through this mysterious case but in a well articulated matter. Although he shows up to job often intoxicated, he's actually very cunning and is way more then meets the eye. It's difficult not to applaud Shane Black and his co-writer, Angourie Rice, on this script and these well developed characters.
     Gosling's surrounding cast is very good. Crowe plays Jackson Healy, a physical brute who is just as strong as he is smart. It's been awhile since audiences have seen Crowe in the lead role of a big feature film but he fits the role very well. Him and Gosling work very well together and you will definitely enjoy the chemistry they bring on screen.
     The story for this film is intriguing. In an age where franchise films or sequels almost completely dominate the wide release market, it's refreshing to see an original idea and pulled off so well. The only struggle this film might have is the pacing at times. Sometimes you'll be very drawn in and really enjoying the comedy, while other times can be a bit of a miss. It could have had some more gut busting moments. These are very small nitpicks.
     However I can honestly say this is in my Top 3 films of the year so far. The performances by Gosling and Crowe with this very intriguing neo-noir homage to 1970s Los Angeles, is one that I highly recommend going to see in theaters, especially since we do not get a whole ton of original ideas with a wide release.

Rating: 9.9 out of 10