The Nice Guys [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Shane Black

Cast: Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice

Release Date: February 11, 2025

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 6.5/10

Synopsis:

Set in 1970s Los Angeles, down-on-his-luck private eye Holland March (Ryan Gosling) and hired leg-breaker Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) must work together to solve the case of a missing girl and the seemingly unrelated death of a porn star. During their investigation, they uncover a shocking conspiracy that reaches up to the highest circles of power.

‘The Nice Guys’ joins two drastically different investigators who reluctantly join forces to solve the mystery of a missing girl in 1970’s Los Angeles. One a private investigator and single father named Holland March and the other a leg-breaking enforcer named Jackson Healy, the two initially cross paths when Healy arrives at March’s home to tune him up, only to return for his assistance not long thereafter. Before long the unlikely pair is forced to try and get along at least long enough to uncover the truth about a missing girl with some curious circumstances.

‘The Nice Guys’ is directed by Shane Black from a screenplay written by Black along with first time screenwriter Anthony Bagarozzi, and Black does a spectacular job guiding along the humorous and intense fun. The film’s talented cast includes Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice, Matt Bomer, Keith David, Kim Basinger and more, with nearly all providing solid and capable performances, while Crowe and Gosling tend to repeatedly steal the show with their hilarious banter and humorous chemistry.

‘The Nice Guys’ made its theatrical debut in 2016 and delivered a wildly fun, humorous and twist-filled ride into the world of 1970’s LA as it follows two polar opposites that are forced to join together in order to get to the bottom of a case involving a missing girl and a whole lot of curious irregularities. It’s a wildly entertaining ride that once again showcases Shane Black’s affinity for delivering a marvelous action/ buddy comedy, with a spectacular cast led by Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling to back it up. If you tend to enjoy a humorous romp with its share of mystery and action but have never had the pleasure of ‘The Nice Guys’ then I would strongly encourage giving it a shot.

For a more detailed review of the film itself you can read my review of the 2016 Blu-ray release from Warner Bros. Right Here!

‘The Nice Guys’ arrives home for the first time on 4K Ultra HD courtesy of Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment. The new 4K edition features a full Ultra High Definition presentation of the film with Dolby Vision and HDR-10 which looks extremely nice as a whole and is completed by a fully capable DTS-HD multichannel soundtrack. While the rear of the case mentions the inclusion of a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, that audio presentation is unfortunately nowhere to be found and the DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack is the sole audio option on the disc. In addition to the nice new presentation itself, the release also features both of the Featurettes included on Warner’s old Blu-ray release. While the absence of the Atmos presentation may disappoint some, the 5.1 DTS-HD soundtrack is fortunately still quite spectacular and for diehard fans of the film and of Shane Black’s work in general (or the key cast) already contemplating a purchase, the release is still recommended for the new UHD presentation alone, especially if you can snag it at the right price for your budget.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘The Nice Guys’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10, presented in its original 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks pretty wonderful as a whole and offers a sharp, clean and gorgeously detailed presentation from start to finish that never suffers from any unexpected issues or faults. Detail is great on character faces and clothing along with vehicles and the decades-ago look of LA, plus a great deal more and the Dolby Vision HDR complements a great deal of it by providing more vivid and lifelike coloring noticeable on clothing, cars and more; all of which is nicely boosted by clean, deep black levels. Overall, this is a very nice Ultra High Definition presentation that holds up capably throughout and should easily excite fans of the film.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. While the rear of the case  does note a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, in reality there isn’t one anywhere to be found and the sole audio presentation is the 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack which seems largely identical to the one found on the 2016 Blu-ray release. This multichannel soundtrack is still a blast and holds up without any issues whatsoever, serving up a clean, crisp and fairly aggressive audio presentation throughout that takes advantage of all five available channels repeatedly throughout in order to send action and vehicle effects, music, crowd chatter and more throughout the various speakers without ever negatively affecting any simultaneously occurring dialogue or other audio elements. Overall, this is a solid 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack that may not be the new soundtrack some fans were expecting but still does its job well and without any issues.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘The Nice Guys’ includes two previously released Featurettes which were both included on WB’s original Blu-ray release. They include ‘Worst. Detectives. Ever. Making The Nice Guys’ (running approximately 6 minutes in length), and ‘Always Bet on Black’ (running approximately 5 minutes).

*Please note that the above images are taken from a previously released Blu-Ray disc and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on the 4K UHD & Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Disc Rating: 6.5/10

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‘The Nice Guys’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment

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You can purchase ‘The Nice Guys’ on 4K UHD at Amazon HERE!

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