Barnes & Noble

Every bit as rousing and rambunctious as you expect high-adventure yarns to be, this generously appointed adaptation of Clive Cussler's bestseller boasts elaborate action set pieces and exotic locations. It takes place largely in West Africa, where treasure hunter Dirk Pitt (Matthew McConaughey) and his pal Al Giordino (Steve Zahn) search for a Civil War battleship rumored to have been stranded somewhere along the River Niger with a fortune in gold intended for use by the Confederacy. While there, they rescue humanitarian relief doctor Eva Rojas (Penelope Cruz), who’s been targeted for elimination by a ruthless warlord (Lennie James) and a French industrialist (Lambert Wilson) after threatening to expose their cover-up of a plague spread by contaminated water. First-time director Breck Eisner handles the disparate elements of this yarn with surprising sure-footedness; the story unfolds smoothly and in a relatively convincing fashion. Big action sequences are extravagantly staged on land, on water, and in the air, with McConaughey registering strongly as an athletic, self-assured hero. He doesn’t seem to have great onscreen chemistry with Cruz -- notwithstanding the fact that they became an offscreen couple after the film’s making. Not that it matters much; Sahara isn’t a movie you want to see for romance. This is full-bore, high-octane adventure that barrels along like a freight train, and however improbable the film might occasionally seem, it’s guaranteed to entertain. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

Matthew McConaughey stars as explorer and adventurer Dirk Pitt in Sahara, an adaptation of the bestselling novel by Clive Cussler. Pitt thinks he may have found both a fortune and the answer to a long-standing mystery when he discovers a rare coin in the waters of a river in West Africa. During the Civil War, an ironclad battleship with a valuable cargo went missing, and Pitt's theory is that the coin places the ship somewhere in the Sahara Desert. Pitt and his goofy sidekick, Al Giordino (Steve Zahn), set out to find it, but along the way they make the acquaintance of Dr. Eva Rojas (Penélope Cruz), a scientist and physician who is trying to determine the source of a strange and deadly disease sweeping the nation. As Eva joins Dirk and Al, they begin to wonder if the mysteries they're trying to uncover might be somehow linked. Sahara was only the second of Cussler's Dirk Pitt adventures to be adapted for the screen; the first, 1980's Raise the Titanic, was publicly dismissed by the author. Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 097361182841
• Source: PARAMOUNT
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound
• Editions: Subtitled
• Time: 2:03:00
• Sales Rank: 11,954

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