After a successful career as a screenwriter, Shane Black made his directorial debut with 2005’s Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Though it got good reviews and became something of a cult fave, it flopped at the box office.

Still, the folks in charge of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) must’ve liked what they saw – or maybe Kiss Kiss star Robert Downey Jr. just wanted to reunite with Black. Whatever the case, Black got the job for a big hit: 2013’s Iron Man 3.

After the huge superhero action of that movie, Black went for something smaller. This led him to the “comedy noir” of 2016’s The Nice Guys.

Set in Los Angeles circa 1977, struggling private investigator Holland March (Ryan Gosling) picks up an unusual assignment. After the death of porn star “Misty Mountains” (Murielle Telio), the actress’s aunt (Lois Smith) claims to see the girl alive.

This investigation leads Holland toward a missing girl named Amelia Kuttner (Margaret Qualley) – and another PI, the brutish “enforcer” Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe). Amelia prefers to remain “unfound”, and she hires Jackson to assist. Despite a rocky start, Holland and Jackson eventually join forces to get to the bottom of a murky mystery.

Going into its May 2016 release date, Nice Guys enjoyed a pretty good sense of “buzz” – at least among film buffs. It appeared to offer a fun throwback to cop flicks of the 70s, imbued with enough quirky comedy to stand out as a winner.

Whatever pre-release juice might have existed failed to translate to box office returns. Nice Guys made a mere $71 million worldwide, a total that meant it lost money despite its relatively modest $50 million budget.

I wish I could claim that Nice Guys offers a gem that deserved a better fate, but the film comes across as a disappointment. While it certainly offers moments of entertainment, the final product lacks a lot of zing.

When Nice Guys does work, it tends to do so due to the chemistry between its leads. Talented on their own, Crowe and Gosling meld together in a satisfying manner. They give us contrasting personalities who nonetheless manage to connect and offer more than a few moments of entertainment.

Unfortunately, the script leaves them high and dry too much of the time. At its heart a semi-remake of Chinatown, the screenplay works too hard to evoke prior films and doesn’t do enough to create its own feel or vibe.

Black seems too concerned with period detail and his attempts to appear clever. He packs the movie with so many cutesy quirks that these threaten to overwhelm the production.

We find ourselves less involved with the story and characters because the film tries so hard to impress us with its left-field touches. These could work, but they usually don’t, mainly because they feel so self-conscious.

What comes naturally to someone like Quentin Tarantino doesn’t fare as well under Black’s watch, and these factors can make Nice Guys come across as less than the sum of its parts. As much as I think the movie should entertain me, it too often falls short of those goals.

Complaints aside, I wouldn’t call Nice Guys a bad movie. Aided by its stars, we get decent entertainment.

Unfortunately, the story drags too much of the time, as its murky detective plot becomes a mess. There’s a fun flick at the heart of this effort, but the end result only provides spotty charms.

The Nice Guys appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. The Dolby Vision transfer lived up to expectations.

Overall sharpness appeared good. A little softness crept into the occasional interior or wider element, but those instances stayed modest.

I noticed no shimmering or jagged edges. Edge haloes and print flaws remained absent.

Despite the movie’s period setting, it opted for a moderate orange and teal orientation. The 70s vibe meant the film gave these a bit of a rusty vibe, but they stayed fairly typical for 2010s movies.

The colors worked well within those limitations, and some gaudier “70s-oriented” hues popped up at times. HDR added impact to these elements.

Blacks appeared dark and deep, and shadows showed good delineation. Low-light shots offered nice clarity, and HDR gave whites and contrast added punch. In the end, I felt pleased with this appealing presentation.

As for the movie’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack, it added a bit of zip to the proceedings. A fairly chatty affair, the mix lacked a ton of zing.

Nonetheless, it blasted music from all the channels and let the effects run wild every once in a while. This became most obvious during the handful of action sequences, and quieter scenes also showed pretty good ambience.

Audio quality worked well. Speech was concise and natural, while music – which mixed score and period songs – boasted fine range and vivacity.

Effects gave us accurate, dynamic elements without distortion. Though not an especially ambitious track, the movie’s mix seemed more than acceptable.

How did the 4K UHD compare to the Blu-ray version? Both came with identical audio.

Though taken from a 2K source, the Dolby Vision UHD boasted superior colors and blacks, and delineation occasionally seemed a bit stronger, though the nature of the source limited those improvements. Still, the 4K’s HDR made it more impactful and an upgrade over the BD.

Two featurettes appear. Always Bet on Black runs five minutes, 27 seconds and includes notes from writer/director Shane Black, writer/executive producer Anthony Bagarozzi, producer Joel Silver, and actors Ryan Gosling, Margaret Qualley, Matt Bomer, Kim Basinger, and Russell Crowe.

We hear about Black and his impact on the production as well as period elements. A few minor insights emerge, but “Bet” mainly tells us of Black’s greatness.

Worst. Detectives. Ever lasts six minutes, 16 seconds and features Gosling, Silver, Black, Bomer, Bagarozzi, Crowe, costume designer Kym Barrett, stunt coordinator Markos Rounthwaite and actors Keith David, Beau Knapp and Angourie Rice.

We learn of the movie’s origins and development, story/characters, cast and performances, stunts and costumes. Like “Bet”, “Ever” seems fairly superficial, though it does contribute a few good details.

Although a good cast gives it some spark, The Nice Guys falls short of expectations. The story becomes too muddled and the script worries more about quirks than clear development. The 4K UHD brings us very good picture and audio but lacks notable supplements. As much as I want to like Nice Guys, the end result seems lackluster.

To rate this film, visit the prior review of THE NICE GUYS