This was a blast. Both Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling in particular were fantastic and hilarious - they had amazing chemistry with one another too. Also great is a wonderful Angourie Rice as Gosling's daughter, who becomes the unofficial third member of this buddy cop team. It's action-packed and exciting, but also full of laughs and has the signature Shane Black wit to it in spades. I hope it does well because I need a sequel ASAP. A-

eh, a little disappointing as I was expecting to totally love it after the trailers but it's a solid film. Enjoyed the humor and Gosling/Crowe as a pair but I felt the whole "mystery" angle while intriguing at first kinda fizzles when it unravels.

It's not kiss kiss, or Lethal weapon, but it's leagues above Last Boy Scout and Long kiss Goodnight, which are still fun. This is Black's genre and he continues to shine. The plotting is a bit of a letdown, especially in the obvious dramatic points it glosses over, but the chemistry is undeniably fun and the performances are great. Shane Black's direction is still quite fresh, and the setting really helps pull it together. Definitely a contender for best of the year, despite its minor problems. Hope it does well.

Yeah, the plot might actually be his weakest written film, but his dialogue and mix of actors still is just a treat to watch. Did Crowe have a fat suit on or did he really just let himself go?

High-wattage star power and an acerbic sense of humor propel The Nice Guys, a type of greatest-hits compilation for writer and director Shane Black, who profoundly impacted contemporary action cinema with his Lethal Weapon screenplays before first trying his hand behind the camera with quotable cult favorite Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, an early salvo in the movie-star redemption of Robert Downey Jr. The new film, set in a neon-and-perversity vision of Southern California in the 1970s, pairs Russell Crowe (as a bruising, too-old-for-this enforcer-for-hire) with Ryan Gosling (as a boozy, amiably avaricious private eye) and sets them adrift in a sunlight-noir conspiracy involving a dead porn star and the automobile industry. At almost exactly two hours, the film's pacing and structure are imperfect—it is not sprawling and psychedelic enough to capture the coherence-transcending Chandler-in-Wonderland quality of Inherent Vice, but the central mystery is never exactly convincing, either—but there is so much to love here, from the kaleidoscopic aesthetic to the improbable-yet-inspired combination of Crowe (his is a wily variation on the straight-man archetype) and a loose-limbed, hyperactive Gosling, their testy-friendly chemistry as captivating as their dialogue is sharp. Also wonderful, perhaps even outshining her A-list co-stars, is fresh-faced Australian teenager Angourie Rice; she steals scene after scene as the Gosling character's helpful and highly moral daughter and foil, playing her as precocious without lapsing into caricature.

B+

It is hard to believe anything comes of the dead characters' "protest porno." It would be funnier and more biting if the Kim Basinger character (as an anti-pornography crusader) was ruined by the revelation her daughter had sex on film rather than any of the automobile-industry-collusion chicanery.

From it's look, to it's pacing, to it's humor, The Nice Guys is a nicely done homage to the 70's and it's movies. *B+"

I think that is more a joke that "Detroit always wins" and was completely crippled after the time this film takes place. There are so many subtle References that Black is known for, but in a less broad stroke. It still works mostly. But I say put this in modern times and you still could have had a kiss sequel. I'm game for a sequel to either.

Bring on Shane Black's the Predator with Arnold and someone younger and weaker foil! A buddy Predator is just what we need (please no gifs of the chick running with the Predator in AVP, strictly talking him characters)

nice

I don't know if the plot makes all that much sense when everything is said and done, but Shane Black's The Nice Guys is an often hilarious (Ryan Gosling!) laid back throwback of a movie. Gosling definitely has most of the best lines, and his chemistry with Russell Crowe is just about perfect. Young actress Angourie Rice is also delightful in her surprisingly large role. B+

I'd also like to shout that Black writes kids well. Probably because he doesn't write them as kids. Nice to see the kid from IM3 in his cameo in the beginning, with JW, it's probably his last kid role. He writes everyone well, but there are so few films consistently where you can say that.

Hilarious and engaging throughout. The trio work perfectly together here.

This.

B+

Its a fun movie with needlessly convoluted plot where both the leads are in full form, but the overall story is just not convincing enough. Shane Black pitches these two leads against each other and then together for the same mystery. Ryan Gosling was hilarious and while Russel Crowe is trying hard his lines didn't end up being funny or making him look like tough guy in the movie. Angourie Rice is BRILLIANT in this, the supporting cast is also decent.

I watched it twice in theaters and it very re-watchable even once the mystery is solved if you watch is as a brainless fun.

6/10

Not as great as I was hoping, but still a solid/entertaining film. Crowe and Gosling are a fun pair to watch, but this movie is a bit too convoluted and the villains weren't much.

Nope.

And he saw it twice.

Yep my bad. I was half asleep when I wrote that, think I mixed two things together

The Nice Guys

This is a blast. It's always great to watch original films. Gosling and Crowe are great together. Love the script, love the 70s feel, love the porn story line, love the detective aspect, and I love the comedy. This film just works. Looking forward to a sequel.

B+

Your grade should be better. Because the film deserves it and because you review reads better too.

I am baffled it didn't do better. It is so much fun.

Usually films only get into the "A" level when they connect with me in another way besides "that was cool". But who knows. Perhaps in repeat viewings, I will hold the coolness factor in higher regard.

It is much better than that steaming pile of shit, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

**1/2 / ***** (C-)

It's an OK movie. Throughout I was so close to laughing but it never went into funny for me. Something didn't click. Didn't like the story. It definitely had every ingredient right for the 70's (porn, corruption, PI's...) but I guess they got the ratio's wrong or something.

I wasn't the fan of the kid as her character fell into that category of fake too "smart" (or better said resourceful) kids that can do just as good as any adult, which is a trope I was never particularly fond of. Why is it so hard to do kids in movies???

This is definitely a distant cousin of Black's own Kiss Kiss Bang Bang which is a much funnier and better movie. Too bad. Would love if I liked it just as much.

Good review. This is also how I felt on these aspects. I also did not laugh, but then I don't need to wet my pants to find something funny. And I think I value the 70s thing, Gosling, Crowe, and the style much higher than you, hence my higher score.

And to answer the kiddie question; it's because 50-year-old men are writing them, and they don't observe local playgrounds before writing (because they'd be arrested), so instead they take inspiration from TV shows and movies, so the cycle never breaks.