Rated PG-13 for action violence.

124 Minutes

Directed By: Bret Eisner

Written By: Thomas Dean Donnelly

Based On The Novel By: Clive Cussler

Staring: Matthew McConaughey, Penelope Cruz, Steve Zahn, William H. Macy, Rainn Wilson, and Delroy Lindo

I’m sorry, I don’t speak English. -Dirk Pitt

Synopsis

Master explorer Dirk Pitt goes on the adventure of a lifetime of seeking out a lost Civil War battleship known as the “Ship of Death” in the deserts of West Africa while helping a UN doctor being hounded by a ruthless dictator.

Review

Sahara was anything but complex, though still a fun adventure flick. What I found perplexing about Sahara was how many mediocre movies Matthew McConaughey has saved with his dazzling good looks and charm. More and more I find myself falling prey to his charisma, and I realize it almost seems illogical. This is not to say that Sahara was a bad movie, it was merely an escapade of simplistic enjoyment, but I realize it probably wouldn’t be worth watching again if McConaughey wasn’t the leading man, and suddenly it occured to me that I felt this way about a plethora of movies he’s in.

By all means Sahara could have offered a fun movie if another actor was in place of McConaughey, but it would have been forgettable. The movie is a by the numbers action adventure story, and like all of Clive Cussler’s novels, way over the top with it’s radical ideals of espionage. A lot of action or adventure films have this same quality, and for some it works and some it doesn’t. Sahara suceeded for the most part. McConaughey was great as Dirk Pitt, the opitomy of “male hero”. He has the looks, the attitude, and the ability to crack saracasm like it’s a second language.

Penelope Cruz as the leading lady of interest was exotic and beautiful as usual. It’s not a stretch for her in the acting department and she played her role better than maybe it had a right to be played, but it did give the story a much needed legitimacy. To aid the flash and bang of McConaughey was Steve Zahn as his trusty sidekick. Always funny and offering an oddball dry sense of humour, that relief was a great mix in some of the intense action moments.

The action was top quality and played a well deserved homage to the adventures of Dirk Pitt and what Clive Cussler has described him to be in his novels. The end of the world often lays in Pitt’s “accidental” responcibility, and Sahara was no exception to that rule. I can’t say everyone will like this movie. If people aren’t fans of one dimensional action, this will be mind-numbing torture for them, but for those action junkies who don’t really ask for a complex plot, rich character’s, and real menaing to their films, Sahara is meant and designed for them. This was an okay movie, made better by it’s stars. The verdict? Worth catching on cable anytime.

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