Movie Review: Sahara

Sahara

Sometimes I want to go to the movies for no other reason than to be entertained. I don't care whether or not I learn anything. I don't even care whether or not I feel much (other than entertained). I just want to enjoy myself for a couple of hours. I thought Sahara might fill the bill where those desires were concerned, and so I bought tickets and popcorn hoping for a little don't-make-me-think-too-hard-about-this escapism. I'm pleased to say that my wishes were granted.

In Sahara, Dirk Pitt (Matthew McConaughey) is something of a scientist, but a military background (never really discussed in the movie, by the way) and a yen for adventure means he's far more likely to be engaged in risky behavior than to be doing any kind of staid research. His longtime pal and partner Al Giordino (Steve Zahn) works with him, and is typically at least as ready for action as is Pitt himself. Fortunately, the two work for retired Admiral Sandecker (William H. Macy) and NUMA, a civilian organization that travels around the world seeking to find and return pieces of history to the people of various countries. That, in turn, gives the two careers offering both satisfaction and risk.

Even that's not quite enough to quench Pitt's obsession to locate an old Confederate ironclad boat he insists made it across the Atlantic to Africa more than 150 years ago. The subject, notes Sandecker with some disgust, inevitably comes up every time the team visits Africa. Though Pitt is ridiculed by everyone for such a far-fetched notion, he finds just enough intriguing new evidence that he's able to talk the boss into letting him pursue his passion—but only for 72 hours. Along with a NUMA technician (Rudi, played by Rainn Wilson), the Pitt and Giordino take their scant clues to see what lies upriver from the coast.

Meanwhile, Dr. Eva Rojas (Penelope Cruz) and her WHO co-worker Dr. Hopper (Glynn Turman) have a passion of their own, and that's to find and stop the source of a terrible—and fatal—plague that seems to be spreading. Rojas has no idea that she's stepping on some highly placed toes in her investigations, and only learns that's the case when she's attacked by unknown assailants. The heroic Pitt happens to be nearby at the time, however, and he comes to her rescue. Of course, now that the two have met, they continue to run into each other during the course of their respective missions. It comes as no real surprise when Pitt and Giordino actually find themselves traveling along the same roads as Rojas and Hopper for a time, and that the two seemingly disparate efforts become as intertwined as do the characters.

The problem for both the treasure hunters and the medical doctors is that the end to their search seems to be in Mali, a region torn by civil war and much of which is ruled with an iron fist by General Kazim (Lennie James). For reasons of his own, Kazim doesn't want the doctors to succeed. The fact that Pitt and Giordino are involved is purely coincidental as far as Kazim is concerned. That doesn't mean they're in any less danger, of course, from Kazim or his troops. NUMA and WHO rely on American Ambassador Polidori (Patrick Malahide), a French businessman and the power behind Massarde Industries (Lambert Wilson), and an undercover CIA agent (DelRoy Lindo) to try to track and save their people. But who is on which side? And what dangers will evolve thanks to the conflicting goals of all of those involved?

The plot sounds a lot more complicated in written form than it is the big screen. Based on one of the Dirk Pitt novels written by noted author Clive Cussler, the screenplay is in fact fairly formulaic. In the case of a movie like Sahara, though, that's not really a criticism. The film is supposed to be fun, not complicated, and it is fun. There are moments of outright amusement, and times of just plain bemusement throughout. The storyline itself is far-fetched, but again, that's how movies like this work (in the inevitable comparisons between Sahara and the Indiana Jones franchise, take note of the fact that a race to capture the Ark of the Covenant doesn't exactly ring all that true to life, either).

The acting is largely quite capable. Matthew McConaughey—who I personally consider to be underrated almost as a matter of course by many critics—is a natural here. His Texan devil-may-care attitude is a perfect fit for Pitt's cavalier behavior. Steve Zahn's performance looks at times to be forced, but that appears to be a directorial flaw rather than any shortcoming on his part. Cruz, however, is another story. She's a lovely woman, but she was sadly miscast here (I imagine McConaughey isn't unhappy that she was, however, seeing as how the two embarked on a personal relationship during and after the course of filming). William H. Macy is never less than very good, but Rainn Wilson is a true delight in virtually every scene he inhabits. As a whole, the action is exciting, and the story interesting (though predictable) enough to hold you between the action scenes.

Sahara isn't the best written or acted movie ever made. And it doesn't really measure up to the Indiana Jones films (though there aren't many films that do). But it does everything it sets out to do, and that's to provide entertainment value for your ticket dollars. If you'd like to suspend disbelief and have some fun during the course of a movie, Sahara will do just fine.

POLITICAL NOTES: At one point, a character is confronted with what might happen if the world finds out what he's done. The character responds, "This is Africa. No one cares what happens in Africa." Sadly, that line rings all too true. While I don't agree that the entire rationale behind the war in Iraq is oil as is contended by some critics, I also don't think the sole motivation behind the action there can be said to be either the War on Terrorism or the toppling of an evil regime. If those were the real motives, then there are plenty of places in Africa where the rest of the world should have stepped in to halt genocides and other atrocities. That they haven't says something about Africa and, more importantly, about us.

FAMILY SUITABILITY: Sahara is rated PG-13 for scenes of "action violence." The very nature of the film, however, makes much of the violence seem almost comic-bookish and thus not unsuitable for those age 10 or so and older (although parents should be cautioned that there is one scene in which government soldiers cold-bloodedly kill everything that movies and another in which a man is executed for refusing to divulge information, and those scenes are graphic enough that they may not be suitable for many). Sahara would be a great family film for those families with older kids, a good date movie for teens, and an entertaining two-hour diversion for the rest of us.