The Nice Guys is Director Shane Black’s third directorial outing, after Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Iron Man 3, and is an absolute joy to watch. Black wrote the first two entries in the Lethal Weapon franchise and The Nice Guys is Lethal Weapon for a new generation. The story is about two private detectives, played by Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling, who team up to investigate a murder in 1970s Los Angeles. Crowe and Gosling are terrific in the movie and have superb chemistry throughout the film. Gosling is particularly hilarious in the film and sells the fact that his character is not a good detective. The movie is hilarious and works off of a great Black script with witty humor and an intricate plot that surprises the viewer at every turn. Angourie Rice, who plays Gosling’s daughter in the film, steals every scene that she’s in and her character is always one step ahead of her father in the film and it makes for some great bickering between the two characters. Matt Bomer (White Collar) plays a hitman who is not in the movie nearly enough and this is a testament to Bomer’s acting abilities and not a detriment to the movie’s script. After watching so many blockbusters, large-scale action films recently, The Nice Guys is a fun and refreshing take on the old buddy-cop genre and reminded me of why I love movies so much.

The Nice Guys: 9 out of 10