Kenny Wells (Matthew McConaughey) is a gold prospector, like his father (Craig T. Nelson), and his grandfather before him. This is a lot harder in the recession of the 1980s, but Kenny has a dream, a literal dream, telling him to go to Indonesia and look up hotshot geologist Mike Acosta (Edgar Ramirez). Acosta knows that there's gold out there but his "ring of fire" theory has been laughed down in his field and he's on the outs. Kenny knows a thing or two about being counted out and the two bond, devoting themselves through hostile governments, hostile environments, money shortages, and almost deadly malaria exposure to discover the largest gold strike in the last hundred years. Rocketing to the stratosphere of the world's wealthiest people comes with its own dangers and Kenny, at his heart a small town guy from Reno, Nevada, is not prepared for the cutthroat, savage environment of backroom deals, predatory banking, and collusion by world leaders. And that's before the FBI steps in.
This is based on a true story and I don't want to spoil it. Ramirez is very good here, better than the film deserves. McConaughey is the lead but the bad combover and snaggletooth actually detract from the character instead of becoming part of it. I was keenly aware that I was watching Matthew McConaughey in a bald cap the entire time. Bryce Dallas Howard is criminally underserved by the script, being given nothing better to do than gaze lovingly and/or sadly at McConaughey as the situation demands. Bruce Greenwood was a scene-stealer as the steely-eyed gold magnate and Corey Stoll played to type as the smug Wall Street guy.
As a crime thriller, it is not top-tier but it does manage to deliver a surprisingly sweet story about friendship and believing in your dreams even if, maybe especially if, people call you crazy. It's streaming for free with ads on the Roku Channel.
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