An awesome action comedy that never deserved to flop undergoes a well-earned reappraisal

The career of Shane Black makes for fascinating reading, in that he’s responsible for establishing many of the standard tropes and trappings that have influenced the action comedy genre for decades, despite his track record for box office success as either a writer or director remaining frustratingly inconsistent, with The Nice Guys perhaps the most glaring example.

Outside of his breakthrough Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s $1.3 billion smash hit Iron Man 3, Black’s filmography is littered with either acclaimed efforts that underperformed in theaters, or overcooked and overambitious disappointments that tried to do too much at once.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Last Action Hero has since become a misunderstood cult classic, The Long Kiss Goodnight still holds up as an unsung gem, and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang has become a staple of the holiday viewing schedule, but all three failed to make a splash among theatrical audiences. The same can be said of The Nice Guys, too, despite a 91 percent Rotten Tomatoes score and a reputation as one of the most accomplished criminal capers to emerge from the studio system in the last decade.

It’s something fans absolutely will not stand for any longer, though, with Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe’s offbeat journey through the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles undergoing a full reappraisal among Redditors.

The Nice Guys barely recouped its $50 million budget, even though it ended on a tantalizing tease that there could be more adventures to come. It’s tragic that it won’t happen, and it’s another swing and a miss from Black, but we can’t say we’re not excited to see him re-teaming with Robert Downey Jr. for an entire franchise based on the Parker string of novels.