The Nice Guys: 10 Reasons It's The Most Overrated Film Of The Year

Given this is a Shane Black movie, we know that the decision to make the plot purposely confusing is clearly a nod to old pulp detective novels, and the works of iconic writers like Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett.

Still, you have to ask yourself, in the case of The Nice Guys... why?

If Black's intentions here weren't meta-orientated, but were to create a freewheeling detective film with goofy, likeable characters and a '70s vibe, why spend so much time building and layering a twisty plot that nobody is allowed to care about? After all, the story driving The Nice Guys' is impenetrable enough that most people will stop trying to keep up with it... it would have made a lot more sense to give audiences a fluffier story that wasn't so obsessed with trying to be clever.

Attempting to deconstruct the plot of The Nice Guys, after all, is an arduous task and one that very few will bother to do. There was no reason for The Nice Guys to cling to such a convoluted story, though - with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, it felt like the point; here, it seems like a waste of time, with multiple industries - porn, cars, Hollywood - awkwardly coming together in a way that feels unearned.

A simpler, more linear story would've actually helped this movie: it would have given the main characters even more room to shine, freed from the confines of a headache-inducing plot that drags them around Los Angeles to no avail.

Have you seen The Nice Guys? What did you think? Share your thoughts down in the comments.