Clive Cussler - SAHARA

There's a ludicrously enjoyable rock & roll vibe throughout this ripping adventure. The story is completely preposterous (what do you expect from a Clive Cussler novel?), but the energetic characters keep us gripped. And we know it's only a matter of time before we hear Lynyrd Skynyrd on the soundtrack--40 minutes to be exact.
Lifelong buddies Dirk and Al (McConaughey and Zahn) travel the world dredging priceless artefacts from the sea with their nerdy sidekick Rudi (Wilson) and their annoyed-but-efficient boss Sandecker (Macy). This particular adventure starts in Nigeria, where Dirk and Al pick up the scent of a long-lost American Civil War ship and follow it upriver into Mali. They're accompanied by WHO doctors (Cruz and Turman) investigating a potentially devastating plague. Throw in a power-mad warlord (James) and a corporate mogul (Wilson), and you just know these plot threads are going to converge.

This is a big, lively romp, filmed in a lushly expansive epic style even though it's basically low-rent James Bond. Several of the eye-grabbing action sequences are perhaps a bit too 007 for their own good, complete with derivative music (and even an overwrought lair for the baddie). The story is loaded with deep improbabilities and conveniences, and it does seem rather odd that oceanic expert and former Navy SEAL Dirk for some reason also has expert knowledge of the desert.

To distract us from these things, the filmmakers pack on the fun and make the most of the engaging cast. McConaughey ripples with muscle, seizing every opportunity to show off his bulging pecs. Zahn does his usual expert comic relief work. Cruz has an impossible amount of hair for a WHO doctor, and despite almost constant peril she remains as feisty and gorgeous as ever. Together they have so much chemistry that it often feels like a Road To movie. It's the kind of film that keeps us gleefully munching our popcorn while we pretend to be excited by the faux suspense and 'surprising' plot turns. And it does indeed leave us hoping it becomes a movie franchise.

Explorer Dirk Pitt (McConaughey) is obsessed with finding a mysterious US Civil War ship, which he believes wound up somewhere in Africa. Upon finding a rare gold coin in Lagos, he knows he's close; but how does it tie in with a "plague" epidemic threatening thousands of North Africans?

Sand. gets everywhere, doesn't it? In your hair, in your sarnie, down your pants... Not to mention all those Hollywood action-adventure scripts. From Lawrence Of Arabia to The Scorpion King via Raiders Of The Lost Ark, the golden, gritty stuff has proven an ideal milieu for brash, tanned heroic-types with treasure to hunt, girls to save and stuff to blow up.

It was only a matter of time, then, before the stupidly named Dirk Pitt, hero of several pulpy novels by Clive Cussler, was given a cinematic excuse to romp around the dunes of West Africa. After all, what better use for the Third World's arid regions is there than as a playground for rugged Americans with little more in mind than salvage and carnage?

Places where corrupt military dictators (in this case, the barely convincing Lennie James) need to be foiled; where camel-thrashing tribal rebels need to be patronised; where feisty maidens (Penelope Cruz, just about keeping up) need romancing; and where the clueless natives need saving.

In case you hadn't guessed, Sahara ain't about to redefine the dune-adventure sub-genre. In fact, it's a bit rubbish, really. Breck Eisner (did Cussler give him his name, too?) directs with effective economy but little flair, the action sequences are been-there-exploded-that, while the plot is downright preposterous. But - and this is a big, hefty, ass-kicking but - it's all such tongue-vaguely-in-cheek fun you don't particularly care.

At the eye of this silly, swirling desert storm is the winning buddy act of McConaughey's Dirk and Steve Zahn's Al Giordino. Buff, browned, with a blinding ivory grin and twinkly baby-greens, McConaughey fills out Pitt's grubby khakis perfectly. Here's a guy you believe can have a solution to every life-threatening problem, who matches brawn with brains and who rarely breaks a sweat, even when the bullets are flying.

Zhan, meanwhile, is superb as the sidekick, forever exasperated by Pitt's impulsiveness, always ready to help him execute his get-out plans. As asinine as it all is, the two make sure every splutter is matched by a smile, every sneer by a cheer. At one crucial point, Al says to Dirk: "I'll find the bomb, you get the girl." And that pretty much sums up Sahara.

Jude Akuwidike ... Imam (as Jude Akuwudike)
Mark Aspinall ... Lawyer
Rakie Ayola ... Mrs. Nwokolo
Christopher Bello ... Train Driver
Nicholas Beveney ... Gunboat 1 Officer
Empotoe Bosage ... Pick Up Truck Guard
Robert Cavanah ... Captain Tombs
Penélope Cruz ... Eva Rojas (as Penelope Cruz)
Clint Dyer ... Oshodi
Matthew Flynn ... First Lieutenant - Ironclad
Paulin Fodouop ... Modibo (as Paulin F. Fodouop)
Ouahbou Houcine ... Tuareg Village Boy #1
Emmanuel Ighodaro ... Kazim's Officer Asselar
Lennie James ... General Zateb Kazim
Maurice Lee ... Zakara

Buy This Allposters.com