Penelope Cruz and Matthew McConaughey in SAHARA
© Paramount Pictures

Mania Grade: B
Reviewed Format: Theatrical Release
Rated: PG-13
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Steve Zahn, Penelope Cruz, Lenny James, Lambert Wilson, Glynn Turman, Delroy Lindo, William H. Macy
Writers: Thomas Dean Donnelly & Joshua Oppenheimer and John C. Richards and James V. Hart, based on the novel by Clive Cussler
Director: Breck Eisner
Distributor: Paramount Pictures

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SAHARA

SAHARA really wants to give audiences a good time, and to a large extent, it does. First-time feature director Breck Eisner stages a lot of bracing sequences of flying fists, vehicles, boats, you name it, and has an appealing sense of comedic timing, not hitting his jokes too hard as our heroes make their way through the title region, with minions of a nasty warlord and a self-deluded industrialist on their tails. It's all pretty sprightly, though the two very different plot threads never weave together into a truly satisfying whole and there are aspects of the film that may exasperate viewers who are sensitive to certain types of political subtext.

World Health Organization doctors Eva Rojas (Penelope Cruz) and Frank Hopper (Glynn Turman) find some pretty horrific instances of an illness that looks like a new type of plague, which seems to have its origins in wartorn Mali. Coincidentally, Mali is where ex-Navy SEAL hero/current adventurous historical treasure hunter Dirk Pitt (Matthew McConaughey) believes a missing Civil War Ironclad ship may be hidden, despite the enormous unlikelihood of the vessel somehow traveling from the United States coast to inland Africa. Dirk and lifelong sidekick Al Giordino (Steve Zahn) and their nervous pal Rudi (Rainn Wilson) cross paths with Eva several times and wind up banding together when they all run afoul of Mali's malevolent Gen. Kazim (Lenny James) and unscrupulous entrepreneur Yves Massarde (Lambert Wilson).

Screenwriters Thomas Dean Donnelly & Joshua Oppenheimer and John C. Richards and James V. Hart have crafted a pretty adroit script that has the occasional good zinger mostly delivered by the ever-on-target Zahn and no notable clunkers in a genre that is generally not known for decent dialogue. They also manage to come up with a storyline that has a sense of import. Eisner proves highly adept at presenting engaging and well-timed action. Blessedly, the characters all pretty much get along with each other, so the banter is good-spirited and there's more time for advancing the plot. McConaughey is flexible and relaxed, Cruz is believably determined and Zahn is enjoyable, while William H. Macy and Delroy Lindo add touches of class in supporting roles.

On the downside, the movie hinges on a number of large coincidences and can't negotiate one that seems crucial we keep expecting some crucial link between the ironclad and the mysterious disease that never emerges. Also, for people who track this sort of thing, it's a little eyebrow-raising in 2005 to see a movie where, in broad strokes, a couple of white Americans (and one Spanish doctor) having to save an entire nation of black Africans while searching lovingly for a Confederate Navy vessel. (This reviewer confesses to being eager to see if Aaron McGruder makes anything of this in the BOONDOCKS cartoon.) There's nothing egregious here, but it's curiously retro.

SAHARA looks very much like it wants to be RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK for 2005. It doesn't reach those heights, but it's entertaining nonetheless.