The Nice Guys: The Official Movie Novelization

OKay, I admit it, I am a Russell Crowe fan. But I really loved this character and his relationship with Holland. I basically bought the book to understand some plot twists and dialogue I was not getting from the film (which tells me the directing could be a tad improved). I read alot of mysteries, and was pleased with the complexity of plot, and defined characters. The humor was very welcome, and well within normal human interaction, not just heavy-handed Schwartenegger bon mots. The moments when Jake goes dark are moving, but the director seemed to run by them really fast, not enough time for the audience to process the depth of what is going on within Jackson's soul. Another reason I bought the book was to see what it said about Jackson describing his feelings about the crazed man in the diner. When he is describing it to Holland, his voice goes very low and you can miss what he's saying. A moving film. Memorable characters. Scary villains. Action sequences at end a bit drawn out and belabored. But a good read, and hopefully a sequel is planned.

Ardai's The Nice Guys is the novelized screenplay of the soon-to-be-released movie starring Gosling and Crowe as a mismatched pair of detectives in a dark noir over-the-top comedic adventure. This is not a traditional novel and it often feels visually as if you are watching a movie, not reading. The action is spelled out but perhaps the descriptions not as much. You can literally hear the narration, particularly in the beginning. You get an enforcer for hire, a down on his luck cynical slapstick private eye who muses that unlike in the movies he never gets drop dead gorgeous clients, a dead porn star, and a nefarious conspiracy. Set in Hollywood, it, of course, revolves around movies and ostentatious Hollywood parties. The start of the novelization builds up the cynical detective stuff and the parallel tough guy story. The dead porn star ("Misty Mountains"), rundown bars, and sleazy customers fill this part of the book. And, our private eye is Inspector Clouseau clumsy. It eventually devolves into action scenes with bullets flying, dead bodies turning up, car chases, and the like. Each sequence one upping the previous sequence. Some of the twists and turns are just over the top. If you are looking for a traditional private eye novel, this isn't exactly it. But if you want to feel as if you are watching a slapstick detective adventure, you may have found it.

I'll be honest, it's not an incredibly well written or anything, but as a partner to the movie? Amazing. It gives you some more insight into the characters, more story to play with, more things to think about, which I personally think makes watching the movie again (and again and again, if you're anything like me) more fun

Quick, fun, highly entertaining

I assume the author was supposed to follow the movie. On four or five occasions he had the wrong character saying the lines. A couple of other errors as well.Overall a good story.

Faithful adaptation of a fun film. The author sticks to the story line, fully developing the likable characters and presenting the physical comedy in ways that are easy for readers to visualize. Some great lines, both in the script and not. Neo-noir, gritty, yet full of heart.

The movie is better but the book fills in some gaps, like Healy's backstory. However there were some inconsistencies that bothered me; March canonically can't smell and hasn't been able to for some time, inciting the event that got his wife killed. The author tends to forget that fact. Among other things. Points for describing Healy as a teddy bear though, that was great.

The book captures the humor of the film and the characters but it carries it own voice. The book brings depth to each character and gives you a better understanding of their actions. A fun and solid detective story with great characters

Hope the movie is better. I bought it expecting something that reminds a good and funny movie script. Nope. That's just plain bad. Deleting from my Kindle right now.

Loved the film, and knew that Shane Black was a huge Detective Fiction fan so I thought I'd check this out. I wasn't disappointed. All the film beats are here, but the hard-boiled prose elevates the material even further. I bet Shane Black loved this. The cover is awesome, too. Highly recommended.

Book arrived much earlier than anticipated. Exactly as described. Secondhand, but in great condition! Will absolutely purchase from this seller again, thank you so much!

Good solid hard boiled effort. I'm sure this made a great film and I'll be sure to watch it after reading the book. The book itself is good fun and although it has obvious nods to the hard boiled pulp era private eye genre it doesn't lay it on too thick. Definitely worth a look.

A fantastic novelization of the film. A serious story with high stakes, but also laugh out loud funny. Well-written, it managed to keep me hooked even though I knew damn well what was going to happen, having already seen the film. A very good movie tie-in that also works as a superb throwback to the detective stories of old.