CNS Movie Review: Sahara

Sahara

By David DiCerto
Catholic News Service

NEW YORK (CNS) -- In the lackluster and, at times, absurdly silly action adventure "Sahara" (Paramount), Matthew McConaughey plays a treasure hunter seeking fame and fortune.

Based on the novel of the same name by Clive Cussler, the tale revolves around globetrotting adventurer Dirk Pitt (McConaughey), an ex-Navy SEAL who is obsessed with finding a long-lost Civil War battleship.

When not searching for clues to the ironclad's whereabouts, the roguish Pitt serves as the front man for a politically connected group of underwater explorers headed by Adm. Sandecker (William H. Macy), who thinks Pitt's quest is a wild goose chase.

Following a trail of rare gold Confederate coins, Pitt is convinced that the 19th-century vessel slipped past enemy lines and sailed across the Atlantic to Africa.

In the perfunctory Sancho Panza role is Steve Zahn as Al Giordino, Pitt's best buddy and fellow former SEAL. As the scruffy but stalwart sidekick, Giordino is in the story strictly for comic relief.

If you think Zahn as a SEAL is a stretch, you'll need major suspension of disbelief to accept Spanish siren Penelope Cruz as a brainy U.N. doctor named Eva Rojas. Why do filmmakers think that simply putting glasses on an actress will invest the vapid reading of lines with an air of intellectualism? Midway through, Cruz's spectacles are off and she settles comfortably into her intended purpose: eye candy.

Rojas is investigating a plague outbreak in Africa, one which may be linked to the mysterious missing warship. Early on, Rojas finds herself in a bind but luckily, Pitt is snorkeling nearby and saves her for the first -- though hardly the last -- time. The film also ends with the two impossibly good-looking actors on a beach, who display little chemistry despite rumors of off-screen romance.

In between, there are a lot of tedious explosions, chases involving speedboats, camels and hostile desert nomads, and an ecohazard subplot involving a slimy European industrialist (Lambert Wilson) and a ruthless warlord (Lennie James).

The first film in a potential franchise, "Sahara" -- with its Indiana Jones-inspired action centerpieces -- tries unsuccessfully to channel the cliffhanger fun of old-time serials a la "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

Though laced with humor and credited to a small army of screenwriters, much of the dialogue is risible, as in one scene where Giordino barks with straight-faced seriousness, "I'll get the bomb. You get the girl."

As strictly escapist fare, "Sahara" is intermittently entertaining. But unlike last year's "National Treasure," which, though flawed, was a brainy popcorn movie, this film relies on shoot-'em-up violence and empty pyrotechnics (which we feel might be too intense for younger adolescents).

To its credit, director Breck Eisner manages to weave in some moral observations about the way developed nations marginalize and turn a blind eye to suffering in poorer Third World countries unless it affects their national interests. As one character quips, "It's Africa ... nobody cares about Africa."

However, aside from some handsome David Lean-flavored photography, "Sahara," like the desert itself, is, for the most part, arid.

The film contains recurring action violence and minimal rude expressions. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents are strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

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DiCerto is on the staff of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

END

Copyright (c) 2005 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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