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| Source: rec.art.movies.reviews newsgroup | | Rating: 3
| When Dirk Pitt (an orange-tinted Matthew McConaughey) finds a very rare Confederate gold dollar, he gets his Tom Cruise-sized partner, Al Giordino (Zahn), to help him search West Africa for the "Ship of Death" - a long-lost Civil War battleship that supposedly contains a secret treasure and that no one else really thinks exists. Along the way, they
team up with Dr. Eva Rojas (Cruz) who suspects the hidden treasure may be connected to a world-threatening danger.
During their search for the ship and its Goonie-esque treasure, Dirk and his pals discover that a mysterious illness is being caused by an African dictator's nuclear waste disposal plant that is polluting the water. A poor man's Indiana Jones ensues.
JOHNNY'S TAKE
It's not exactly a crowning achievement that one of the things that excited me most about Sahara is that the bright glow from Matthew McConaughey's orange tan provided enough light for me to take notes. That certainly doesn't say a lot about the movie's strongpoints, but it did prove to be very convenient.
Sahara has a lot going for it - humor, explosions, gunfire, lots of things that go boom, and a couple of charming lead characters. Unfortunately, it's missing an immersive, gripping story to really pull you in and hold your interest. There are times, particularly in the middle (aka Sahara Snoozefest 2005), where the action comes to a halt, and a lot of pointless characters say a lot of boring stuff in order to attempt to flesh out a story that just isn't there.
Even Stephanie started to fall asleep, and she's a huge Matthew McConaughey fan!
Steph: It's true. Matthew, of course, looked great! But I would've enjoyed the movie just as much had there been no sound.
The thing I liked most about Sahara is that it doesn't take itself too seriously, and it doesn't expect the viewer to either. Take note that Steve Zahn is playing a former Navy SEAL and you'll know what I'm talking about.
I can handle that, and I hope you can too because you're going to be hit with an onslaught of plot contrivances that exist only for the sake of humor. For example, Dirk and Zahn are captured, and a truck is transporting them. They manage to push the truck bed (which they're handcuffed to) out of the back without the two soldiers in the truck noticing. They then walk around the desert carrying the truck bed behind them. The soldiers wouldn't have heard the ENTIRE TRUCK BED
FALLING OUT OF THE BACK???? Yeah. Keep your "suspension of disbelief tool" handy and you'll be fine in that regard.
However, you have to feel sorry for the neglect that elements such as plot, storytelling, and logic must suffer for the sake of the many obligatory shirtless scenes where McConaughey presses his arms against his side in order to make his muscles look bigger than they actually are.
Steph: You're just jealous.
Why would I be jealous that his arms are smaller than mine? I will admit that it is a good source of entertainment. You can't help but laugh as McConaughey thinks of new and exciting ways to "casually" flex his arms. "Let me stretch my arm out and reach down to get something out of my boat while I fleeeeeeeeeeeex."
The movie is well aware of what it's doing, and that's really its strong suit. Granted, that's not very substantive, so take it for what it's worth. The other thing that works really well in the movie is the relationship between McConaughey and Zahn. They have good chemistry and are quite effective in convincing the viewer that they've known each other since
kindergarten. But I'm afraid that's just not enough to carry an entire movie.
Especially one that's OVER TWO HOURS LONG! Sheesh. What were they thinking? I'd say an 80-minute runtime would've sufficed. It would have definitely saved me the headache of trying to force myself to stay awake during Sahara Snoozefest 2005.
For an introductory movie to a proposed franchise, you've gotta come out of the gates making some noise. You just can't accomplish your mission when people walk out of the theater comparing notes regarding which point in the movie they fell asleep.
FACT OF THE DAY
Zahn was cast when filmmakers realized his take on his character was completely in synch with their own. They wanted the character to be comedic without being a huge goofball. Ardent fans, however, aren't as pleased with the casting since the character is described as a "round, tough little Italian" who is fairly muscular. Johnny's research shows that nobody in history has ever described Steve Zahn as a muscular little Italian.
THE GIST
If you're just dying to see Sahara at the theater then go ahead and lower your expectations right now. There is *some* fun to be had, but overall it just didn't do it for me. This can wait for a rental.
By : Johnny Betts (http://www.themoviemark.com/moviereviews/sahara.asp)
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| | Source: rec.art.movies.reviews newsgroup | | Rating: 2
| Sahara is long, loud and nonsensical. It is a dumb-down movie that allows you to put your brain on automatic and just watch the action set pieces that chug through the movie.
Based on one of Clive Cussler's popular Dirk Pitt novels, Sahara is a five-and-dime Indiana Jones. As portrayed by Matthew McConaughey, he is quick-witted, good with his fists, smart and tan. He also is a very one-note character, as his range of emotion is limited to a smirk, grin or smile.
Pitt is hunting for a legendary, lost Confederate Army ironclad supposedly washed onto the African continent by a giant storm sometime in 1865. On the way, he becomes involved with a World Health Organization doctor (Penelope Cruz) and the mystery of a disease that is polluting the water and killing the local inhabitants. The two stories finally, strenuously, converge in a rather unconvincing manner.
With a running time of a few minutes over two hours, Sahara sputters along as slowly as a trek across the desert. After an explosive opening explaining the background of the ironclad, the movie seems to meander from here to there, from Pitt to Cruz's Dr. Eva Rojas, before the two converge, and the action quickens.
But it takes a long time - too long - for that moment to arrive. With the exception of Stephen Zahn as Pitt's wisecracking sidekick, Al Giordino, the characters are mostly one-dimensional cardboard cutouts. McConaughey's Pitt is the daredevil adventurer, nothing else; Cruz's Rojas is the noble physician. Even such pros as William H. Macy and Delroy Lindo go to waste in supporting roles. Macy, though, does try to instill some weight into his part as Pitt's employer. Sahara settles into a repetitive series of chases and gun battles, with a lot of bullets expended and none of the good guys hit. As usual in these types of films, the gunmen of the villain can't hit the broad side of a barn, while Pitt, Giordino and company mow down their attackers like targets in a shooting gallery.
The movie makes no pretensions to be anything but pure escapism, with a bit of tongue-in-cheek. It set its standards low and never aimed any higher.
By : Bob Bloom
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