Since then, Black has become more of a niche filmmaker, bouncing between uneven franchise projects like 2013\u2019s Iron Man 3<\/em> and 2018\u2019s The Predator<\/em> and original works like The Nice Guys<\/em> and 2005\u2019s Kiss Kiss Bang Bang<\/em>. The latter two are funny, exciting crowd-pleasers that ought to have been huge hits, but instead have become cult favorites that are mainly beloved by cinephiles. It\u2019s possible that The Nice Guys<\/em>\u2019 Netflix debut will change that, as it has for many mid-tier action movies<\/a> that didn\u2019t make much of a dent on their initial release. Even if only a small portion of The Gray Man<\/em>\u2019s Netflix audience discovers The Nice Guys<\/em>, that\u2019s still a bonus for a movie that deserves to be seen as widely as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI get it. You\u2019re glib,\u201d Billy Bob Thornton\u2019s CIA official tells Gosling\u2019s convict when first recruiting him as a government operative in The Gray Man<\/em>, and directors Anthony and Joe Russo seem to take that as a challenge, to make the character code-named Six into a quip-spouting machine, even as he\u2019s in the midst of car chases and explosions and firefights. You could accuse Gosling\u2019s The Nice Guys<\/em> character Holland March of being glib, too, but his glibness is an obvious cover for deep sadness, and Gosling finds a perfect balance between the humor and the pathos, which are intertwined elements of March\u2019s personality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He\u2019s an alcoholic and a scammer, milking his sometimes addled clients for all the money he can, while only half-heartedly investigating their cases. In that way, he\u2019s the opposite of the dedicated, righteous Jackson Healy (Crowe), who trades in intimidation and physical violence, but uses his brute strength in service of standing up for underdogs. Healy has ambitions of becoming a private investigator, although his idealized sense of a private eye\u2019s life looks nothing like March\u2019s sad, lonely existence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They cross paths thanks to Amelia (Margaret Qualley), an activist and adult film actress who hires Healy to stop March from looking for her. Quite a lot of people are looking for Amelia, who is the key figure in a knotty conspiracy that eventually encompasses the Justice Department and the \u201cbig three\u201d American automakers, in addition to the porn industry. Black is working in the mode of detective stories stretching back to The Big Sleep<\/em> and The Maltese Falcon<\/em>, with plots whose near-incomprehensibility is part of their charm. March and Healy are closer to the protagonists of later comedic pastiches like Robert Altman\u2019s The Long Goodbye<\/em> <\/a>and the Coen brothers\u2019 The Big Lebowski<\/em>, bumbling losers<\/a> whose outsider status makes them perfect for uncovering corruption and murder among the rich and powerful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n March and Healy aren\u2019t exactly incompetent, although their stubborn persistence is mainly what makes them such a threat. That, and the skills of March\u2019s 13-year-old daughter Holly (Angourie Rice), one of those kids who\u2019s had to mature early while taking responsibility for an immature, irresponsible parent. March has barely been holding himself together since the death of his wife, and working with Healy on the Amelia investigation gives him a sense of purpose, even if he has to be reluctantly dragged into it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In The Gray Man<\/em>, Six has a mawkish, hastily established connection with his former handler\u2019s niece (Julia Butters), whose peril provides easy motivation for vengeance. At times, March seems unduly casual about involving Holly in potential danger, but their bond is far more convincing in its complexity, strengthened by the charismatic, layered performances from Gosling and Rice. Holly is precocious without ever becoming cloying, believably scared when she\u2019s in over her head but also sneakily resourceful, just like her dad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Nice Guys<\/em> doesn\u2019t have the budget of The Gray Man<\/em>, but Black still stages action in a far more compelling and coherent manner than the Russos do. It takes a while before March and Healy find themselves in a full-scale shootout, but when they do, Black makes it thrilling and suspenseful, while also throwing in humor and moving the plot forward. There\u2019s nothing gratuitous about The Nice Guys<\/em>, whether it\u2019s Gosling\u2019s brilliant physical comedy in a bathroom stall or the explosions and fistfights of the action climax. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Everything that The Gray Man<\/em> strains to accomplish, The Nice Guys<\/em> delivers with ease, with added social commentary and winning supporting performances by everyone from Keith David to Kim Basinger. It\u2019s not unprecedented for Netflix to take up the rights for a property initially released elsewhere, so there\u2019s still time to redirect the resources for announced sequels and spin-offs for The Gray Man<\/em> to The Nice Guys<\/em> instead. “The Nice Guys” is now str<\/a>eaming on Netflix.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/nice-guys2-1024x683.jpg\")
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