 Movie
Reviews
with Evelyn Gough
Sahara (M)
Directed by Breck Eisner
Another victory in the war on terror by Team America?
Cutie-pie himbo Matthew McConaughey gets semi-serious and goes brunette for his latest role as treasure hunter Dirk Pitt in this exciting action adventure based on the novel by Clive Cussler.
Dirk and his best buddy Al Giordino (Steve Zahn) have been friends since kindergarten. Ex Navy Seals, they now work for NUMA (National Underwater Marine Agency) under the command of retired Admiral James Sandecker (William H. Macy).
Their latest mission has them working off the coast of Africa, which is extremely fortuitous as it means our ruggedly handsome hero is in the right place at the right time to rescue the beautiful damsel in distress, aka Dr Eva Rojas (Penelope Cruz). She and her colleagues from the World Health Organisation are investigating what they believe is a plague and now the dictator of Mali wants them dead. The big question is why? What is he so afraid they will discover? Meanwhile Dirk's involved with his own investigation, the hunt for a mythical Civil War ironclad (that's a type of war ship, in case you were wondering!) that reportedly wound up somewhere in Africa. Don't ask me how! In fact, don't ask me to explain anything at all about this movie. Take my advice - you can either sit there picking giant holes in the plot or you can park your brain at the door and have a really good time, which is what I did.
Sahara is a rollicking romp of a movie, big on action, big on laughs and Matthew McConaughey and Steve Zahn are great together thanks to a clever script. This is good old-fashioned matinee entertainment with a contemporary twist; heaps of violence and a timely environmental message. Sit back, get some sand between your toes and have fun.
Rating: 
PS - Unfortunately Clive Cussler doesn't agree with me. He is currently in the process of suing the filmmakers.
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