Fascinating story with great actors misses the mark with a ridiculously long script.
Kenny Wells, a prospector desperate for a lucky break, teams up with a similarly eager geologist and sets off on a journey to find gold in the uncharted jungle of Indonesia.
The premise of the film is fascinating and it’s true in recent years Matthew McConaughey has proven to be a wonderful dramatic actor. With both these things on the film’s side, you’d think it’d be set for a great ride. However, it falls flat due to an overstuffed script. It’s too long to maintain attention, some scenes are also overly repetitive and/or boring. I think too much time is spent on the discovery of the Gold, where the audience know that he’s going to find it and that build up doesn’t really add a great deal to the story.
The cast is strong, with McConaughey offering another stellar performance, Corey Stoll and Bryce Dallas Howard also both offer strong performances. The cinematography is brilliant, it’s looks beautiful.
Overall the script really let’s it down, otherwise it could’ve been great.
2.5 Stars
Review by Benjamin Maio Mackay
Screening courtesy of Picture This!