“Sahara” (Paramount Pictures)
Matthew McConaughey takes on the role of Dirk Pitt in the film adaptation of Clive Cussler’s novel “Sahara.” This is an action adventure that puts all of its emphasis on thrills and lets reality go by the board. Still those who want a pleasant mind distraction will eat up the action and not bother with anything else.
In the film Pitt and his pal Al (Steve Zahn) are working for their boss, the Admiral (William H Macy), in Africa. Pitt has discovered a rare coin that bears the markings of the Civil War era. This makes him decide that a missing “ironclad warship” that was “lost” in the American Civil War may be in Africa. He convinces the Admiral to let him make a trip upriver to try and find this lost ship.
Also going upriver are two doctors with a health organization who think there is the beginning of a plague in one of the countries in Western Africa. Drs. Eva Rojos and Frank Hopper (Penelope Cruz and Glynn Turman) are determined to find the source of this plague and contain it. But all of these adventurers are being watched by a businessman named Massarde (Lambert Wilson) who has his own reasons for keeping them out of the region where they are headed.
From start to finish there is one exciting sequence after another. Pitt is an Indiana Jones type with a little James Bond thrown in for good measure. At times there is even James Bond type music playing in the background.
The problem is the adventures are unrealistic. This is one of those movies where the good guys don’t miss when they fire a weapon. Every bullet hits someone. But the bad guys, well they can’t hit the broadside of a barn with a bazooka. This lack of reality diminishes the fun of the film.
McConaughey throws himself into the role of Pitt and has a ball with it. He is matched charm to charm and fun to fun by Zahn. These two men have a great rapport and you can believe they are partners on screen and buddies in real life. The same is not true of Cruz. She and McConaughey are supposed to be a real life item but none of that charisma and romance comes through on the screen. Cruz is good in the action sequences but in the love department she strikes out.
The movie also wastes the talents of Macy, as the Admiral, and Delroy Lindo as a CIA Agent. These two men are excellent actors and deserve bigger and more substantial roles than they are given here.
The film is rated PG-13 for profanity and violence, but neither is extreme. In fact this is a very mild film for the PG-13 rating.
If you are looking for a mindless movie in which you can just relax and have fun, then “Sahara” is just the ticket for you. But if you need a little realism mixed in with your adventure then you had best look elsewhere. This movie features a bulletproof hero in a flight of fancy adventure.
I scored “Sahara” a desert-ed 5 out of 10.
