Angel’s Review of ‘The Nice Guys’ (NON SPOILER)

Movie Description:

“A mismatched pair of private eyes investigate the apparent suicide of a porn star in 1970s Los Angeles.”

FINALLY! This was one of my highly anticipated films of 2016 simply because of the incredible trailers this film had and I finally got the chance to see it! The Legend Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling in the same movie directed by Shane Black…ABSOLUTELY ARE YOU KIDDING?! COUNT ME IN! Let’s get started 🙂

Experience:

I had such a great experience watching this film, one of the best I’ve had this year! I had the privilege of going with the love of my life per usual to the movies with the company of her friends as well! Hearing them laugh consistently throughout the film with me along with their commentary made the experience much better. The Nice Guys is an excellent movie. Great time at the theaters!

Story:

So from the trailers I got the sense that this film was going to be a film about two characters that were extremely interesting and different that form a partnership to solve a missing person case. That’s exactly what The Nice Guys was, but I actually wasn’t invested into the story as much as I wanted to be. It felt really generic and the outcome of the main focus/investigation for the majority of the film was completely wasted.

For me, I felt pretty confused the entire movie, not really understanding what the main motivation was for the story other than to find the missing porn star because there was more to it, but I just wasn’t understanding very clearly. This is probably my own fault and experience, but I would miss some vital dialogue on occasion due to laughter and I think that’s what affected my disconnection with the overall story.

Characters/Performances:

RUSSELL CROWE IS A BEAST!

One of the greatest actors of our generation and arguably of all time ranging from Gladiator to Cinderella Man to A Beautiful Mind and now this! I always love seeing Crowe in any film because he’s just THAT GOOD, elevating every scene and movie he’s in. His character in this movie is extremely likable, funny, entertaining, wise, and intimidating! It was great to see his character’s ideology on how he should help others grow subtly throughout the movie. Crowe delivers each line with so much class and NAILS that accent like a pro. I would watch an entire movie revolved around his character!

 

RYAN GOSLING IS ACTUALLY HILARIOUS?!

This looks crazy and sounds crazy in my own head, but Ryan Gosling outshone RUSSELL CROWE. For me, that’s mind boggling, but it’s true because every scene that he was in, he made me laugh pretty hard. This is probably the best I have seen Ryan Gosling act since Blue Valentine and it’s on the other side of the spectrum with comedy which was such a pleasure!

The line delivery, the situations, the timing, the physical comedy, and facial expressions was all surprisingly comical and handled so well on his part! He gave it 100% which I always appreciate. The chemistry between him and Crowe is what made me really enjoy this movie! He’s definitely branching out and expanding his comfort zone as an actor and I can’t wait to see more from him. I totally want to see him as SHAZAM in the DC Universe!

 

Negatives:

My main problem I had with the film was the pacing. For me, it did feel a little slow at times and I would think to myself “okay get back to a scene between Gosling and Crowe!” I was bored when they were giving exposition on the main plot they were trying to unveil and I could tell it was slow because I’ve seen Wolf of Wall Street which is nearly 3 hours and it felt like 2. The Nice Guys is 1 hr 52 m, but felt like a 2hr 40m film.

I wish Matt Bomer was in the film more just because he was awesome to see in a hitman role! He was very sophisticated, suave, and creepy! He could have added a great thrilling aspect to the movie, but unfortunately they didn’t expand on him much. Seeing him in those role has convinced me that he would be a fantastic James Bond.

 

 

Those are the only complaints I had with the film! This film works because of the Gosling/Crowe’s chemistry and the interactions they have with other characters for the specific situations they are in!

OVERALL

The Nice Guys was an excellent movie! I loved the style of this movie, I loved how hysterical it was, I loved the performances, I loved the chemistry of Gosling/Crowe, and I loved the dialogue. The story was a little confusing at times with an anti-climatic resolution and I wish the pace was handled a little better! My rating for this film is a solid 8.5/10! 🙂