The Nice Guys

Russel Crowe and Ryan Gosling were born for roles like these. They make fun of themselves, but not in a very obvious way. That’s what the movie itself is like. It is funny, but at the same time isn’t primarily about the humor, it is rather a typical detective story from the 1970s. However, when there is a hilarious scene it has such an impact that you will want to rewatch it a couple of times after the first viewing. During the remainder of the time, you hope for something mindblowing to come any minute now and so you are observing, lurking, and you appreciate every moment that makes you laugh. Every joke is actually filmed so originally that the ending will make you sad. Even though I wasn’t that impressed with the first half of the crime story, the second half was a lot better. But the humor reigned for the whole 2 hours. I even have a feeling that you will not find a funnier movie from the year 2016. (21/12/2016)

Shane Black appeals to me just by the way he still bets on his overdubbed, voiceover-guided format even after years, but this time he just made it by a hair's breadth. The storyline scissors are very wide open and it takes almost twelve minutes to really cut with them. He unnecessarily complicates the different threads and it takes quite a few dozen minutes before it becomes clear to us who, with whom, and how. Fortunately, one weapon is hiding in this arsenal that kicks strongly as expected. It's Ryan Gosling, who again does everything to not be categorized in any way and thanks to the anti-intelligence displayed here, he reliably sent me to my knees several times. His March is so genuinely passionate and yet completely useless that it even overshadows the reliable bulldog next to him. 70% and a fourth star if I look the other way, and for how obvious it is that the central trio enjoyed this nonsense seriously and with taste. (10/06/2016)

Slight disappointment. The Nice Guys is carried in a lovely retro style with a solid leading duo, though Ryan Gosling whines a bit too much like a little girl here, which bothered me at times, but thankfully Russel Crowe is properly tough and uncompromising. The action is very good, but it was unfortunately lacking, resulted in frequent deaf passages, and the film runs out of breath in the last 20 minutes. I found the film hardly funny at all and the dialogues between the leading couple hardly worked, lacking the right chemistry. I liked the light R-rated stuff and a couple of original scenes, but it could have been better. Add more action, a more interesting twist, speed up the pace and I would have been more satisfied. 65% (13/06/2016)

Black is a wisecracker and he knows how to write characters, fully humanize them, and then let them sprinkle (not only) verbal humor in dialogue exchanges that make the audience squirm. Yet the entire film is covered by such a terribly lame and in many moments transparent crime plot that it wouldn't even hold up as a retro episode of CSI. If the investigative aspects hadn't been taken so seriously (a take on so many strong social themes) and had settled for more self-deprecating silliness, it would be a genre perennial. [It dissipated quickly the day after I watched it.] 3 ½. (25/05/2016)

I got what I wanted. But it's worth remembering that Shane Black, who wrote The Last Boy Scout, was twenty-five years younger, so The Nice Guys is closer to his directorial debut Kiss Kiss Bang Bang than to the rampage of Joe Hallenbeck and Jimmy Dix. Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling are a bit off as the detectives most of the time and usually don't really know who's shooting at them and why, but Black is understandably in complete control of the whole situation and lays his cards on the table at the right time. The whole thing is endearingly goofy though, so not only do the protagonists have no idea what's going on around them at times, but Black is able to afford some very campy (and great) action scenes full of ideas, bizarre jokes and punchlines you wouldn't expect. The Nice Guys is a smart crime drama, but one that wants to do things a little differently and isn't afraid to rely on mostly pretty gritty and cynical humour alongside the honest battles and shootouts, playing with audience expectations and making it entertaining to the last minute. You'll never know what Black will pull on you in the next scene. You just know it's going to be great. (16/05/2017)