It Was What I Thought It Would Be and Was What I Wanted It To Be

Rating: 9/10 (22 May 2016)

I have to say from the trailer I was hoping for a movie that was fun, full of action, funny, and has good dialogue.
This movie was exactly what the trailer promised me.
I'll try not to spoil the movie, but I'm checking it just in case and read at your own risk.
It almost seems odd that Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling have never worked together before because they were really good together. Gosling plays Holland March, an alcoholic cynical private investigator, and Crowe plays Jackson Healy, a thug for hire.
We don't seem to know much about these characters pasts, but Healy seems driven by a desire to do good and help people. He is far from idealistic though, he's very subdued throughout the movie like life has dragged him to the edge of hopelessness. March, well it's not clear if his wife is dead or they're not together anymore, but he is a cynic and pretty much a loser with a 13 year old daughter who takes care of him and while she loves him, also is hugely frustrated by him.
Both men find themselves involved with a girl named Amelia, March is looking for her because she's connected to a missing person case he's working and Healy is hired by her for protection before disappearing.
This however only proves to be the beginning as the two men find themselves working together, Healy because the mob trashed his home looking for Amelia and March because he needs the money.
All the actors do a great job from Gosling playing a loser drunk who is surprisingly sharp at times to Crowe playing a thug who wants to help a girl who wanted to be safe to Angourie Rice playing Holly the daughter. I'm also impressed by Matt Bomer who plays a hit-man named John Boy. I'm used to Bomer playing Niel Caffrey on White Collar. He doesn't get a lot of speaking lines, but the few he had he seemed charming at first, but something was off in an unnerving way. It was well acted.
This movie also does not shy away from violent or language and I haven't seen this many breasts in a movie in a while, though that might be because I haven't seen an R rated movie that interested me in a while. It is not a kid friendly movie at all... though I would soon recommend taking your kids to this than Angry Birds.
Bottom line, if you liked the trailer you'll enjoy this movie and there is a lot more that I haven't mentioned. Shane Black has made a movie he should be very proud of and frankly I hope to see a sequel some day.