Shane Black is back at it again in one of his best under appreciated films since 2005s Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and feels very much like a spiritual sequel to that film. The way Black is able to capture the 70s era of Hollywood to near perfection makes for such a beautiful film. Ryan Gosling plays a bumbling PI and Russell Crowe muscle for hire with ambitions of being a PI that just happen to be working on the same case. From the minute they appear onscreen, they just share amazing chemistry together. Gosling's performance may be a tad bit over the top but Crowe does a great job of equalizer.
The standout performance comes from Angourie Rice who plays Gosling's daughter as she has this presence about her that helps her steal the scene from the veteran leads. She has this maturity about her yet innocence that helps make a good folly for Gosling.
The overall case is a little messy, but there is not a dull moment of the film. The case is interesting, the running time is full of plenty of action and a fair amount of bloody violence for those hardcore action fans(really going for that hard R) but it's also extremely funny as the dialogue is really crisp and original and Gosling and Crowe just play so well off each other.
9.5/10
My Take: A near perfect film that excels at everything it set out to accomplish (best action comedy this year) except attract an audience at the box office. Much like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Shane Black seems to be unable to entice people to see his films which is a shame because they're really great.