The Nice Guys

In L.A., 1977, two PIs (Russell Crowe & Ryan Gosling) are assigned to find and protect a young girl. A mysterious conspiracy unravels before them.

As a fan of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang I was excited to see what Shane Black had to offer again after taking a trip on the franchise wagon with Iron Man 3. Fortunately much of the dark, dry humour and wit of the previous film remains here.

Russell Crowe steals the show, having gained an impressive amount of weight for the role as well as a surprising set of comedy chops. He’s the perfect counterpoint to Ryan Gosling and makes what could be an unusual pairing work perfectly.

The Nice Guys is funny, entertaining and original, and yet it falls just shy of greatness. The plot is a little flimsy & too many of the jokes don’t quite stick. It’s a shame because it’s probably one or two re-writes away from being a classic.

Nevertheless, this is one of the better comedies of the past few years and does more than enough to make it worth your while.