Sahara
(Paramount Region 1 NTSC DVD)
(2005)
review by Head Cheeze

I’ve never read a Clive Cussler book. My father, on the other hand, has read them all, and was quite excited to see one of his favourites, Sahara, made into a film. He loves the adventures of Dirk Pitt; a former Navy S.E.A.L. who now makes his living as a deep sea treasure hunter/adventurer, and was raiding tombs long before Angelina Jolie was even born. However, my exposure to Dirk Pitt was limited to the 1980 schlocker, Raise the Titanic, so my expectations were somewhat low for Sahara, so perhaps that’s why I had such a good time with this admittedly silly, implausible adventure flick. Then again, it could just be that Sahara is precisely the sort of fun and frivolous action flick that makes the summer movie season such a hoot.

The film opens during the Civil War, with an “iron-clad” steamship under heavy fire off the coast of the United States. The ship, which is carrying a cargo of gold coins, is believed to be lost in the battle.

We flash forward to present day, and meet Dirk Pitt (McConaughey) and his lifelong friend and salvage partner, Al (Zahn), as they bring the sarcophagus of an ancient African leader up from the bottom of the ocean. As members of NUMA, an organization headed by Admiral Jim Sandecker (Macy), the crew searches the world for lost artifacts, but not for the riches they may bring, but to, instead, return them to “the people”. While in Africa, Dirk receives a call that someone has found something relating to the mysterious disappearance of the Civil War vessel; something that has become an obsession for Dirk. What he finds is a coin, believed to be one of only five in existence, and proof that this vessel may very well have washed up on the shores of Africa. With the blessing of the admiral, Dirk and Al make their way into the war torn Mali to search for Dirk’s phantom ship.

Meanwhile, Dr. Eva Rojas (Cruz), a member of the Worldwide Health Organisation, suspects that a plague is breaking out in the same area. Her investigation catches the attention of a brutal warlord who has reason to keep this epidemic under wraps, and sends an assassin to kill Rojas and her cohorts. Dirk rescues Eva, and, as they get closer to their individual quests, they find that may very well be one-in-the-same.

Sahara is a bit of a mishmash of the conspiracy thriller, James Bond films, and those old Hope and Crosby road movies, with lots of humour and nods to the serial adventures that inspired Lucas and Spielberg’s Indian Jones films. While not nearly as smart as those movies, Sahara is such lightweight, crowd-pleasing stuff that it’s hard not to enjoy yourself while watching the movie, even if your brain may feel a little cheated by it all.
I was a bit alarmed at the lack of chemistry between McConaughey, Cruz, and Zahn, but the film is more concerned with gee-whiz action sequences and impressive set pieces than it is about performances, and, in the end, that’s what Sahara is all about; boat chases, explosions, gunfights, and fisticuffs. It’s a popcorn flick through-and-through, and a very entertaining one at that.

The DVD from Paramount features over four hours of bonus materials, including a somewhat serious and droll commentary from Breck Eisner and McConaughey (who also produced the film), as well as three featurettes, deleted scenes, and more.

While Sahara didn’t fare well at the box-office, I suspect that, had it come out in theaters in the summer rather than early spring, this would have been found a much bigger audience in a season that’s been remarkably devoid of this style of entertainment. But seeing as how the DVD comes out just as the summer is winding down, this is the perfect way to beat the heat and still get that big summer blockbuster experience in the comfort of your own home.

Just make plenty of popcorn.