The Nice Guys - movie review

The Nice Guys

Plot: A mismatched pair of private eyes investigate the apparent suicide of a porn star in 1970s Los Angeles.
Cast: Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice
Director: Shane Black
Rating: 15
Runtime: 1hr 56 mins
Release Date: Friday 3rd June 2016

Crime noir is a film genre that I love, albeit, if done right. They're usually gritty, sexy and full of intrigue and mystery. The one problem is that none of these films scream Hollywood blockbuster. The last one to really hit was Sin City but that was based on a graphic novel. The Nice Guys is the newest of this genre but we get something unique. Instead of the dark and depressing focus on the crime underbelly, director Shane Black breathes humour and levity in a predominantly dark film.


I'm going to come right out and say it; Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe have phenomenal on screen chemistry. If you take a look press junkets and behind the scenes footage, the relationship that formed between these two class actors is not just for the cameras. They are both at the top of their acting game here and have surely added another iconic duo into film history. Everybody remembers Riggs and Murtaugh, or more recently, Schmidt and Jenko. Now, in 2016,  the names Healy and March are likely to be synonymous to film fans. Russell Crowe plays Jackson Healy, a mixture between a hitman and protective security. Crowe makes a character that could have been wildly over-the-top into a calm and collected cool dude that can kick you ass whilst being so charismatic that you wouldn't care about the pain. It's also clear that Crowe relishes in these fun roles and just lets loose a little. As for Gosling, he is our primary joker of the duo and he is so bloody funny. Every other line that he speaks is always a wisecrack even in the most ominous of situations. His character of Holland March is a clumsy, ridiculous and goofy detective that is completely out of his depth but tries his all. Whether it be chasing naked mermaids and talking to a bee in the backseat of his car, Gosling doesn't let anything phase him no matter how mental his character may be. But what I didn't expect was that March had another layer of depth to him, he has a daughter to look after. Unfortunately, that's where my slight issues of The Nice Guys become apparent. I liked the fact that his daughter was often able to ground him into reality and actually be the adult in the family, but whenever she got involved with the investigation, Angourie Rice and her character just irritated me. It's cool that she acts older than her age and talks like it too, but when she does a better job than two professional detectives, I found it hard to believe and it annoyed me that her mistakes kept costing Healy and March progress. I also didn't like her moral compass that felt out of place amongst the extreme and fantastical violence present throughout. When she's begging Healy not to kill someone, it doesn't feel consistent to the tone especially that a guy just blew up in a previous scene. In my opinion, reduce the daughter's role to a fun little angsty teen and it might have been better. There are too many antagonists featured to mention in this review, even though they all have significant screentime. Instead, I'll just talk about Matt Bomer as John Boy. He doesn't appear until near the climax of the film but his appearance is teased throughout and when he does suddenly appear, Bomer makes a groundbreaking impact. John Boy is the result of Hannibal Lecter and The Joker having a man child. He is devilishly mad and Bomer has his ridiculousness firing on all cylinders. I would have preferred him to be in the film a little longer but I'm happy with the time we got.

Crowe and Gosling may have stole the show as far as acting is concerned but this is Shane Black's movie. Just down to the style and writing, this has Shane Black written all over it. The dialogue is fast and rapid and pretty damn realistic. Characters would just spout these random conversations that you could see yourself discussing with your friend. However, a wish of mine was that it could have been funnier. I wasn't expecting the comedy of the year because I knew the crime noir element would often take charge, but there were never any guy busting moments or interactions that had me crying with laughter. I laughed pretty consistently and the majority of the one-liners worked to full effect. I was just waiting for that one moment to really tickle my funny bone but it never really came. The raucous comedy that I was expecting was instead replaced by the mystery and crime story that I was also anticipating. I thought that it would have been a 50/50 split but in actual fact, it was more 70/30. It's best to go into The Nice Guys not knowing too much about the plot other than the two detectives are on the hunt for a missing person after the murder of a notorious porn star. There are twists and surprises aplenty as per any noir thriller but my favourite aspect of the story was that I found myself piecing the crime together along with Crowe and Gosling. Going back to Shane Black, his direction is pretty much faultless. The Nice Guys is set in 1977 and Black perfects the overall look of the film. It has a retro look to it across all the sets and costumes. There is a great fun score that accurately fits the time frame and the violence is stylised too.

The Nice Guys is a treat for film fans especially, but if you love noir thrillers but was hoping for a more light-hearted entry, this is for you. The duo's chemistry is undeniable and it's all wrapped up in a nice little bow from a talented director.

My Verdict: 8/10

What did you think of The Nice Guys? Who is your favourite buddy cop duo? Post your comments below.

If you like what you've seen here, don't forget to share this post, comment below and check out my other reviews. Thanks for reading!