What’s up with all these depressing movies about old school businessmen wandering around being depressing? I think I’m gonna have to start cutting these films out of my life.
Going into this film I was hoping for more fun, like what I found in War Dogs, however I was in for just an OK experience that would leave me feeling a bit empty in the end.
Matthew McConaughey gave the movie his usual creepy all, putting on a ton of weight for the film. If seeing McConaughey in tighty whities was your dream, then be prepared to have your fantasy fulfilled over and over again. He does an (inter)stellar job at playing Kenny Wells, a modern day gold prospector who goes into the jungle with his very last dollars and a desperate bid to find gold.
The story, which is based on the Bre-X mining scandal (don’t click the link if you were planning on watching the film) ambles along with weird beats that I presume are meant to make the film feel more than just an open and shut case. Instead it instills you with a bit of apathy and boredom.
Bryce Dallas Howard does a good job of playing the caring wife, who somehow straddles the line between ditz and possibly the most caring character and all round lovely person in a sea of suits. I may have got a minor crush.
There are a couple laugh out loud scenes that I hope make it into gif form one day, but other than that this is a film I wouldn’t bother going to see at the movies.
There’s a butt ton of alcohol in this film, the characters are almost never seen without a bottle in their hands. So much so that Matt, our resident professional with an opinion quipped that “I got contact drunk just watching this movie.”