Review: Glad to witness writer-director Shane Black returns to genre which made his name. While Iron Man 3 becomes his breakthrough, his name really was made during the 80s and the 90s as screenwriter of cruchiest hardboiled action flicks, i.e., Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout or Last Action Hero.
In 2005, Black directed his debut with LA neo-noir, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. His new feature, The Nice Guys, works as a resume to sum the best of his filmography. Besides, it marks his return to the jungle of LA glams – now in the 70s. Also, he returns to his imbalance buddy formula as in Lethal Weapon. Only this one is much more lite, neater and more hilarious.
The Nice Guys (2016) – Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice | Image via IMDbBlack’s new deadly duo consists of Holland March (Ryan Gosling), an inept, cunning, and money-oriented private investigator, and Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe), a straightforward but cranky enforcer. Two random cases have unexpectedly linked them together in aftermath of the death of a pornstar Misty Mountains and the missing case of a girl named Amelia. While starting off from different corners – Holland is hired to find Amelia while Jackson is hired to prevent Holland to find Amelia – the feat have to work together when the mission goes awry and complicated as it involves porn film industry, anti-smog campaign and corruption.
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The Nice Guys benefits from having a real smooth and neat script to contain all random clues about disjointed cases into a big, intertangled conspiracy. Instead of making it complicated, Black and co-writer Anthony Bagarozzi tends to make it lite and digestible. Various satire referencing issues from the 70s are authentically brought into surface without making the whole setup convoluted for it sticks to the essential points – making effective use of slapstick humours (which looks as if it is imported directly from the 80s hardboiled action and serves as mockery to the genre tropes) and electric chemistry delivered by the leads.
Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice & Russell Crowe | Image via themoviedb.orgRyan Gosling as “the world’s worst detective” is having fun with his role as an exact opposite of another L.A. guy of him in Drive. Russell Crowe catches the irony of typical hardboiled lead. While the protagonists are annoying, the chemistry they both share is dynamic, resulting in tons of laughing. Kim Basinger also appears as a convincing white-collar femme fatale despite a very limited screen time. However, the real show stealer is Angourie Rice a s Holland’s daughter, Holly. She isn’t coming as a comic relief, but her character really gives a life to the plot and breaks a typical masculinity in action flicks.
In his comeback to L.A, Shane Black makes L.A.neo-noir more vibrant and cheerful while The Nice Guys appears as a pitch black comedy. Isn’t it ironic? It is, but Ryan Gosling and Rusell Crowe’s electric chemistry as well as show-stealing performance from Angourie Rice is definitely not something you can miss. It is plot-heavy but it never fails to present myriads of fun moments.
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The Nice Guys (2016)
Action, Comedy, Crime Directed by: Shane Black Written by: Shane Black, Anthony Bagarozzi Starred by: Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice, Kim Basinger Runtime: 116 mins Rated R
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