15 Best Movies Like The Nice Guys

Movies like The Nice Guys draw from a long history of detective fiction, including both novels and films. The director and co-writer of The Nice Guys, Shane Black, even wrote some of those films, so searching for similar movies opens up a treasure trove of hard-boiled mystery stories. Luckily, many of the best movies, like The Nice Guys, are available to stream on some of the biggest services like Netflix.

Whether searching for comedic murder mysteries or buddy cop action, fans of The Nice Guys won’t be left wanting for thrills when checking out the most similar films. The best movies like The Nice Guys aren’t just worth seeking out for their similarities to Black and Anthony Bagarozzi’s screenplay but because many of them are certified cinematic classics that have helped to shape Hollywood history.

15

L.A. Confidential (1997)

Russell Crowe As A Tough Cop In Los Angeles

Movie

My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist

Success!

L.A. Confidential (1997) - Poster - Kevin Spacey, Russel crowe, guy pearce & kim basinger

Your Rating

close

10 stars

9 stars

8 stars

7 stars

6 stars

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Rate Now

0/10

Leave a Review

Your comment has not been saved

L.A. Confidential

R

Crime

Mystery

Thriller

9/10

Release Date

September 19, 1997

Runtime

138 Minutes

Director

Curtis Hanson

Writers

Brian Helgeland, Curtis Hanson

Cast

  • Headshot Of Russell Crowe

    Russell Crowe

  • Headshot Of Guy Pearce In The 77th annual Cannes

    Guy Pearce

Powered by

Expand
Collapse

Based on the beloved James Elroy novel, L.A. Confidential tells the story of the LAPD in the 1950s when corruption within the department had been running rampant for years. Directed by Curtis Hanson and written by Brian Helgeland, Russell Crowe plays a similar character here as he does in The Nice Guys. In The Nice Guys, he is a violent enforcer who will dish out damage to anyone who gets in his way. In L.A. Confidential, he is the cop who prefers to beat up criminals before he arrests them.

Blended image of Russell Crowe in Gladiator and Master and Commander

Related

Russell Crowe’s 10 Best Movies, Ranked

Russell Crowe has been one of the most prominent movie stars of the 21st Century. From American Gangster to Gladiator, these are his best roles.

Posts

1

L.A. Confidential is mostly about bringing down the bad cops, and in this case, it goes to the top. While Ryan Gosling’s Holland March is a much better human being than Guy Pearce’s “good cop” from L.A. Confidential, they both play the same sort of foil to Crowe’s bruiser who thinks with his fists and in both movies, end up realizing it takes more than muscles and might to save the day.

14

Hot Fuzz (2007)

A Big City Cop Is Assigned To A Small Village

Movie

My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist

Success!

Your Rating

close

10 stars

9 stars

8 stars

7 stars

6 stars

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Rate Now

0/10

Leave a Review

Your comment has not been saved

Hot Fuzz

R

Action

Comedy

Mystery

Thriller

ScreenRant logo

10/10

9.3/10

Release Date

February 14, 2007

Runtime

121 minutes

Director

Edgar Wright

Writers

Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg

Cast

See All

  • Headshot Of Simon Pegg

    Simon Pegg

  • Headshot Of Martin Freeman In The London Premiere `Black Panther: Wakanda Forever`.

    Martin Freeman

Powered by

Expand
Collapse

In The Nice Guys, an experienced enforcer has to team up with a more laid-back private investigator to take down a major criminal conspiracy. While Hot Fuzz deals with two police officers, they are also very much mismatched and find themselves bringing down an organization that has been secretly killing people for years.

Edgar Wright followed up his breakout movie Shaun of the Dead with a love letter to buddy cop movies with Hot Fuzz. Nicholas Angel is a super-cop who transferred from London to a small village because he made everyone else look bad. When he arrives, he ends up partnering with Danny Butterman, the wide-eyed and impressionistic son of the police inspector.

Soon, Angel realizes something is not right in this quaint village when people keep dying in mysterious “accidents,” and he soon realizes he can’t stop the murderers on his own. The film has become a massive cult favorite and Hot Fuzz might be one of the most quotable movies of the century so far.

13

The Other Guys (2010)

Two Misfit Cops Set Out To Bring Down A Criminal Organization

Movie

My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist

Success!

The Other Guys Movie Poster

Your Rating

close

10 stars

9 stars

8 stars

7 stars

6 stars

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Rate Now

0/10

Leave a Review

Your comment has not been saved

The Other Guys

PG-13

Comedy

Action

ScreenRant logo

6/10

9/10

Release Date

August 5, 2010

Runtime

107 Minutes

Director

Adam McKay

Writers

Adam McKay, Will Ferrell

Cast

See All

  • Headshot Of Will Ferrell In The premiere of Illumination's 'Despicable Me 4'

    Will Ferrell

  • A photo of actor Mark Wahlberg at a screening of Arthur The King

    Mark Wahlberg

Powered by

Expand
Collapse

While The Nice Guys has two mismatched men team up to bring down a criminal organization, The Other Guys has two misfit cops trying to do the same thing but without any help from the rest of the police force. The entire movie starts out with one of the most ridiculous sequences in action comedy history as two super-cops (Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson) stop criminals while causing major property damage, but are hailed as heroes – until they die when they leap off a building while chasing bad guys.

Both movies have great one-liners and sight gags, and while The Other Guys is a little more slapstick-based, they share a similar backbone and structure.

This leads to the two misfits (one a mild-mannered detective who likes desk work and the second a hothead suspended for accidentally shooting Derek Jeter). They soon learn about a major heist about to go down, but when no one believes them, they set out to stop it on their own with hilarious results. Both movies have great one-liners and sight gags, and while The Other Guys is a little more slapstick-based, they share a similar backbone and structure.

12

Seven Psychopaths (2012)

A Writer Seeks Out Criminals To Help Break His Writer’s Block

Movie

My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist

Success!

Seven Psychopaths Movie Poster

Your Rating

close

10 stars

9 stars

8 stars

7 stars

6 stars

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Rate Now

0/10

Leave a Review

Your comment has not been saved

Seven Psychopaths

R

Crime

Comedy

Drama

ScreenRant logo

7/10

6.3/10

Release Date

October 12, 2012

Runtime

110 Minutes

Director

Martin McDonagh

Writers

Martin McDonagh

Cast

See All

  • Headshot Of Colin Farrell In The Los Angeles Press Day For Apple TV+'s 'Sugar'

    Colin Farrell

  • Headshot Of Sam Rockwell

    Sam Rockwell

Powered by

Expand
Collapse

In The Nice Guys, a private investigator ends up forced to team with a violent enforcer who is more than happy to kill anyone who gets in his way. While this makes the partnership dangerous and frustrating for the PI, it bears a similarity to the Martin McDonagh movie Seven Psychopaths. In this movie, Colin Farrell plays a screenwriter in Los Angeles who has writer’s block and is seeking inspiration for the “psychopaths” he wants to write into his new movie script.

To achieve this, he puts an ad in the paper for any “psychopath” to contact him so he can interview them and use their experience to write his new script. However, when mobsters, hitmen, and serial killers respond, Marty realizes he might have just put his life in danger, all while his roommate ends up with a hit put out on him by a psychopath of his own. The film was a cult hit, while also picking up nominations at the BAFTA and Independent Spirit Awards.

11

Midnight Run (1988)

A Bounty Hunter Brings In A Former Mob Accountant

Movie

My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist

Success!

Midnight Run Film Poster

Your Rating

close

10 stars

9 stars

8 stars

7 stars

6 stars

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Rate Now

0/10

Leave a Review

Your comment has not been saved

Midnight Run

R

Action

Comedy

Crime

Release Date

July 20, 1988

Runtime

126 Minutes

Director

Martin Brest

Writers

George Gallo

Cast

See All

  • Headshot Of Robert De Niro In The 35th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Night

    Robert De Niro

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Charles Grodin

  • Headshot of Yaphet Kotto

    Yaphet Kotto

  • Headshot Of John Ashton In The Premiere Of Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time

    John Ashton

Powered by

Expand
Collapse

There have been countless buddy cop movies over the years, but one of the best of the genre came in 1988 with Midnight Run. It is important to note that neither man here is a cop, though, which helps it line up more with the side genre that includes movies like The Nice Guys. In Midnight Run, Robert De Niro is Jack Walsh, a bounty hunter hired to bring in former mafia accountant Jonathan “The Duke” Mardukas (Charles Grodin).

While both the FBI and the mafia are warning Jack against bringing Mardukas back to the bail bondsman in Los Angeles, he ignores them and captures the man anyway. However, they end up with the mafia and the FBI on their tale and end up on a road trip movie with danger in every city they enter. This was one of De Niro’s first attempts at comedy, and it was a smash hit. It has a 95% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while it has become a beloved cult hit over three decades later.

10

The Long Goodbye (1973)

Elliott Gould Plays Philip Marlowe

Movie

My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist

Success!

The Long Goodbye - Poster

Your Rating

close

10 stars

9 stars

8 stars

7 stars

6 stars

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Rate Now

0/10

Leave a Review

Your comment has not been saved

The Long Goodbye

R

Drama

Comedy

Crime

Release Date

March 8, 1973

Runtime

112 Minutes

Director

Robert Altman

Writers

Leigh Brackett, Raymond Chandler

Cast

See All

  • Headshot Of Elliott Gould In The Netflix's ‘You People’ LA Premiere

    Elliott Gould

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Nina van Pallandt

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Sterling Hayden

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Mark Rydell

Powered by

Expand
Collapse

Robert Altman’s classic neo-noir film is a hugely influential detective story that should be considered essential viewing for any fan of The Nice Guys. Elliott Gould’s performance as the iconic private eye Philip Marlowe changed the movie-going public’s expectations for hard-boiled detectives, and shades of him can be seen in many of Shane Black’s characters.

While the story about Marlowe’s investigation of the deaths of several people, including one of his old friends, retains many of the grittiest elements from Raymond Chandler’s original novel, it’s also injected with its own dark sense of humor. Like The Nice Guys, it has a very distinct mixture of toughness and vulnerability, thanks in large part to Gould’s performance.

9

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)

A Criminal Turned Actor Teams With A PI During A Case

Movie

My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist

Success!

Your Rating

close

10 stars

9 stars

8 stars

7 stars

6 stars

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Rate Now

0/10

Leave a Review

Your comment has not been saved

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

R

Crime

Comedy

Mystery

8/10

Release Date

November 18, 2005

Runtime

103 minutes

Director

Shane Black

Writers

Brett Halliday, Shane Black

Cast

See All

  • Headshot Of Robert Downey Jr. In The 10th Annual Breakthrough Prize Ceremony

    Robert Downey Jr.

  • Headshot of Val Kilmer

    Val Kilmer

Powered by

Expand
Collapse

Shane Black’s name is well-known to action movie fans due to a number of his highly-popular screenplays being produced in the 80s and 90s as well as a successful directing career that he started in the 2000s with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Like The Nice Guys, the movie is a neo-noir detective comedy that leans most heavily into the comedic part of the equation, but not without adhering faithfully to the tenets of hard-boiled detective fiction as well.

The murder mystery at the center of the story is compelling and Black makes sure to include some of the shootouts that made his earlier screenplays so popular. However, the chemistry between Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer in the lead roles is more than enough reason for fans of The Nice Guys to seek it out​​​​​​.

8

The Last Boy Scout (1991)

A Former Cop Clashes With A Football Star During A Kidnapping

Movie

My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist

Success!

01401262_poster_w780.jpg

Your Rating

close

10 stars

9 stars

8 stars

7 stars

6 stars

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Rate Now

0/10

Leave a Review

Your comment has not been saved

The Last Boy Scout

R

Action

Thriller

Release Date

December 13, 1991

Runtime

105 minutes

Director

Tony Scott

Writers

Shane Black

Producers

Barry Josephson, Joel Silver, Michael Levy

Cast

See All

  • Headshot Of Bruce Willis In The Premiere of Motherless Brooklyn

    Bruce Willis

    Joe Hallenbeck

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Damon Wayans

    James Alexander ‘Jimmy’ Dix

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Chelsea Field

    Sarah Hallenbeck

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Noble Willingham

    Sheldon Marcone

Powered by

Expand
Collapse

Shane Black’s first two screenplay credits were in 1987 for writing the action blockbuster Lethal Weapon and for co-writing the horror-comedy The Monster Squad. While the latter failed to find an audience in theaters, the former’s success defined Black as a name in Hollywood action movies, and his second action screenplay helped him hone his distinct style.

The Last Boy Scout furthered Black’s characterization of the weary detective and his more grounded partner, with Bruce Willis’ former Secret Service agent turned sleazy PI acting as a bridge between Elliott Gould’s Marlowe and Ryan Gosling’s Holland March. The story, about a far-reaching conspiracy revolving around professional footballers, also drops the audience into a side of LA’s entertainment industry not usually seen in movies, like The Nice Guys does with pornography.

7

Lethal Weapon (1987)

Shane Black’s Breakout Screenplay

Movie

My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist

Success!

Your Rating

close

10 stars

9 stars

8 stars

7 stars

6 stars

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Rate Now

0/10

Leave a Review

Your comment has not been saved

Lethal Weapon

R

Crime

Action

Thriller

8.6/10

Release Date

March 6, 1987

Runtime

109 minutes

Director

Richard Donner

Writers

Shane Black

Sequel(s)

Lethal Weapon 2, Lethal Weapon 4, Lethal Weapon 5

Cast

See All

  • Headshot Of Tom Atkins

    Tom Atkins

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Mitchell Ryan

Powered by

Expand
Collapse

The original Lethal Weapon solidified a great many action movie tropes that are now commonplace in Hollywood screenwriting. It also showed many of Shane Black’s most beloved quirks as a screenwriter, not least of which is his choice to set his stories on or around Christmas, which is a tradition that has endured in his career through Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Iron Man 3, and even the ending of The Nice Guys.

The murderous conspiracy plot in Lethal Weapon has a slightly harder edge than the one in The Nice Guys as the two LAPD officers at the center of the mystery–the iconic Riggs and Murtaugh–are a bit more serious than Holland March and Jackson Healy. This isn’t to say that the film isn’t funny as a result though, as Mel Gibson and Danny Glover have superb chemistry and light up each and every scene that they’re in.

6

The Guard (2011)

A Bad Cop Teams Up With An FBI Agent Searching For Drug Smugglers

Don Cheadle and Brendan Gleeson are the oddly paired cops in this dark crime comedy from writer and director John Michael McDonagh. Cheadle plays an FBI agent searching for drug smugglers on the west coast of Ireland, and Gleeson is a local police officer who’s far from a straight arrow but essential to understanding the landscape. Fans of The Nice Guys will appreciate the movie’s focus on witty back-and-forth dialogue as well as the story’s bullet-riddled finale.

The Guard has a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Guard may not have the glamour of 70s Hollywood going for it, but it uses the natural beauty of its location to create a unique personality for the film. For anyone who loves the “good cop/bad cop” dynamic of mismatched partners but wants to see it in a different setting (Ireland), this is a great film for fans of The Nice Guys to see a similar story with a new dynamic. Director John Michael McDonagh received a BAFTA nomination for his screenwriting on the film.

5

Rush Hour (1998)

East Vs. West In A Clash Of Cultures

Movie

My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist

Success!

Rush Hour Movie Poster

Your Rating

close

10 stars

9 stars

8 stars

7 stars

6 stars

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Rate Now

0/10

Leave a Review

Your comment has not been saved

Rush Hour

PG-13

Action

Adventure

Comedy

ScreenRant logo

7/10

9/10

Release Date

September 18, 1998

Runtime

98 minutes

Director

Brett Ratner

Writers

Ross LaManna, Jim Kouf

Sequel(s)

Rush Hour 3

Cast

  • Ken Leung Profile Picture

    Ken Leung

  • Headshot Of Chris Tucker

    Chris Tucker

Franchise(s)

Rush Hour

Powered by

Expand
Collapse

4

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Guy Ritchie Brings Sherlock Holmes To The Big Screen

Movie

My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist

Success!

Your Rating

close

10 stars

9 stars

8 stars

7 stars

6 stars

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Rate Now

0/10

Leave a Review

Your comment has not been saved

Sherlock Holmes

PG-13

Adventure

Mystery

Action

ScreenRant logo

9/10

13

7.8/10

Release Date

December 25, 2009

Runtime

128 minutes

Director

Guy Ritchie

Writers

Anthony Peckham, Simon Kinberg, Michael Robert Johnson

Sequel(s)

Sherlock Holmes 3, Sherlock Holmes 2

Cast

See All

  • Headshot Of Mark Strong

    Mark Strong

  • Headshot Of Eddie Marsan In The 'Back To Black' premiere

    Eddie Marsan

Franchise(s)

Sherlock Holmes

Powered by

Expand
Collapse

Related

10 Things Robert Downey Jr.’s Sherlock Holmes Movies Did Better Than The BBC Show

The Sherlock Holmes movies and the Sherlock BBC drama are both incredible, but there are some things that the movies did better than the show.

Posts

4

Fans of both the banter and the chaotic fight scenes in The Nice Guys will find a lot to love in this action-adventure blockbuster, as Holmes and Watson take on a murderous mastermind who appears to have supernatural abilities. The film was a huge success and spawned a sequel, but so far the series has stopped at two movies in the franchise. However, it shares much in common with The Nice Guys, especially when it comes to the uneasy partnership between very different men.

3

The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)

Shane Black Turns Geena Davis Into An Action Hero

Movie

My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist

Success!

yredxx5lmfukhtvb0ofi7mzuhlr.jpg

Your Rating

close

10 stars

9 stars

8 stars

7 stars

6 stars

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Rate Now

0/10

Leave a Review

Your comment has not been saved

The Long Kiss Goodnight

R

Crime

Action

Mystery

Thriller

10/10

Release Date

October 11, 1996

Runtime

121 Minutes

Director

Renny Harlin

Writers

Shane Black

Cast

See All

  • Headshot Of Geena Davis

    Geena Davis

  • Samuel L. Jackson headshot

    Samuel L. Jackson

Powered by

Expand
Collapse

Shane Black wrote and produced this action thriller about a woman with amnesia who, with the help of a private eye, discovers that she is in fact a highly-trained killer who’s connected to a deadly government conspiracy. Fans of The Nice Guys will be satisfied with the movie if they’re watching it for Shane Black’s style of comedy, as Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson fill the story with charm and humor in the lead roles.

But they’ll want to stay for the action too, as Cliffhanger and Die Hard 2 director Renny Harlin is more than a match for the smorgasbord of wintry action scenes in the movie. This film remains one of Geena Davis’s most iconic roles, as she and Samuel L. Jackson remain a perfect pairing, delivering Shane Black’s great dialogue and taking part in some incredible action scenes that remain impressive but never overshadow the story at hand.

2

Brick (2005)

A Noir Mystery Set Inside A Modern-Day High School

Movie

My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist

Success!

c860df76-6741-4e53-89b3-da4cd61a154c

Your Rating

close

10 stars

9 stars

8 stars

7 stars

6 stars

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Rate Now

0/10

Leave a Review

Your comment has not been saved

Brick

R

Drama

Mystery

Crime

Release Date

April 14, 2006

Runtime

110 minutes

Director

Rian Johnson

Writers

Rian Johnson

Cast

See All

  • Headshot Of Joseph Gordon-Levitt In The Hollywood Critics Association's 2023 HCA Film Awards

    Joseph Gordon-Levitt

  • Headshot Of Lukas Haas In The World premiere of 'Babylon'

    Lukas Haas

  • Headshot Of Emilie de Ravin In The Locke And Key Netflix Premiere

    Emilie de Ravin

  • Headshot OF Meagan Good

    Meagan Good

Powered by

Expand
Collapse

Related

Robert Downey Jr.’s Uncredited Cameo In The Nice Guys, Explained

The Nice Guys is one of the best crime movies of the 2010s, and its star-studded cast includes an uncredited Robert Downey Jr. in an unusual role.

Posts

Though Brick is one of the darker movies like The Nice Guys, it still exudes the sense of humor that Johnson would later put into his Knives Out films, both through the dialogue and a little physical comedy. One thing that really helps this movie stand out is the dialogue, as it takes place in a modern-day high school, but everyone talks like they came straight out of a classic detective novel with Sam Spade in the lead. The dangerous criminal underworld in the school atmosphere remains iconic.

1

The Big Lebowski (1998)

The Coen Brothers Slacker Noir Classic

Movie

My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist

Success!

Your Rating

close

10 stars

9 stars

8 stars

7 stars

6 stars

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Rate Now

0/10

Leave a Review

Your comment has not been saved

The Big Lebowski

R

Comedy

Crime

Sport

ScreenRant logo

8/10

9/10

Release Date

March 6, 1998

Runtime

117 Minutes

Director

Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Writers

Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Cast

  • Headshot Of Julianne Moore In The 77th annual Cannes Film Festival

    Julianne Moore

  • Headshot Of Jeff Bridges In The 2024 Disney Upfront

    Jeff Bridges

Powered by

Expand
Collapse

The Big Lebowski. The laid-back bowling enthusiast makes for one of the most entertaining amateur detectives in movie history, stumbling through a kidnapping case with the endearing lack of grace that makes Holland March such a lovable character in The Nice Guys.

The Big Lebowski is a hugely creative take on the structure and clichés of film noir, and it has its own comically surreal dream sequence too, but it’s mostly one of the best movies like The Nice Guys due to its love for Los Angeles. The way that it frames and utilizes the idiosyncrasies of the world-famous city gives every scene of the film an inimitable charisma.

Movie

My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist

Success!

Your Rating

close

10 stars

9 stars

8 stars

7 stars

6 stars

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Rate Now

0/10

Leave a Review

Your comment has not been saved

The Nice Guys

R

Mystery

Thriller

Crime

ScreenRant logo

7/10

9/10

Release Date

May 20, 2016

Runtime

116minutes

Director

Shane Black

Writers

Anthony Bagarozzi, Shane Black

Cast

See All

  • Headshot Of Ryan Gosling In The Paris premiere of 'The Fall Guy'

    Ryan Gosling

  • Headshot Of Ty Simpkins In The Celebrities attend The 51st Annual Saturn Awards

    Ty Simpkins

Powered by

Expand
Collapse