Sahara

Sahara perfectly fulfills the requirements of a summer adventure blockbuster. It has a reasonably (although still amusing) constructed plot about searching for a mythical treasure (although this one is quite massive), with an additional storyline about doctors fighting against an unknown infection, both of which are skillfully intertwined. The combination of comedy, adventure, action, and serious subject matter like disease-ridden Africa surprisingly doesn't feel like an eyesore. On the contrary, it is quite logically (within the context of the film) integrated and enhances the already high level of effectiveness of the movie. The production design, while it must be acknowledged that the helicopter flyovers over the desert don't quite fit in, otherwise indulges in grand shots of moving cars and camels, surprisingly sparingly. Moreover, both formally and content-wise (perhaps even more so), it strongly resembles the third installment of Indiana Jones, and if we had Dirk instead of Matthew McConaughey, it could easily be considered the fourth installment of the "archaeological adventures" even without Steven Spielberg. True, in many aspects, Sahara has its own distinct elements, such as the mentioned epidemic, and most importantly, it features Penelope Cruz in the leading female role, who delivers an incredible performance. It is worth watching the film just for her presence alone. But a second viewing? Maybe again in the summer. (08/14/2005)

Oh, that was painful! Sahara is the type of movie to watch on TV when you come home, tired after a day's work, your mind is working at about one-fifth capacity and you desperately need something to fall asleep to. But if you don't want to sleep and, on the contrary, want to enjoy a pleasant two hours of no-brainer fun, you're in for a disappointment. Even if you can get over the fact that a massive armoured ship colossus from the American civil war is in the middle of the African desert, that one toxic factory can cause a total global ecological apocalypse and a bunch of other bullshit, you haven't won yet. You’ll still have to digest the pile of clichés in the script, which reminded me of my childhood creations around the age of ten when I attempted to write an adventure novel. But that's still not all. Then you have to deal with Penelope Cruz and her monotonous acting (even visually this lady never captivated me) and Steve Zahn's dumbass jokes in his usual position as a jerk. Thankfully, McConaughey's charisma makes this schlock at least somewhat watchable, and William H. Macy delights with an artful performance that is so far removed from his typical wimpy underdogs. But that’s a weak compensation. (10/24/2005)

Sahara is a case of a film so incredibly silly that it's laughable and functions as an unintentional crazy comedy. Giving such nonsense only one star is disrespectful, as it's tremendously entertaining - just in a somewhat different way than the creators intended. Stuffing such a heap of absurdities into the screenplay deserves admiration for its audacity alone. For a moment, I closed my eyes and listened to the dialogues, as well as the sound effects of gunfire and engine noises in the film. That alone was enough to have me in stitches... Overall impression: 20%. (01/05/2008)

It took me half an hour before it fully hit me that I was watching one of the worst movies of recent times. But in the end, I endured Sahara diligently, because I could not believe that such a group of people could commit themselves to this. An avalanche of logical gaps, unrelated situations, and insane dialogues with a dysfunctional action finale. Unfortunately, they succeeded. One star for Panama. (02/20/2007)

Average, average, and more average. And it's certainly not as good as the book, which is excellent. I don't know why, but it seemed to me that each of the actors was only putting half the effort in. Yet McConaughey is a good fit for Dirk Pitt - unfortunately, he hasn't lent him anything but his body (which, as a straight man, is not good enough for me). Penélope Cruz is the same, but I like her better, Steve Zahn was annoying most of the time, but I can't deny him a few (I guess only two) good jokes. The best of all is William H. Macy in an uncharacteristic boss role. As far as the action scenes are concerned, they were handled quite well, the atmosphere of the desert helps the film a lot, the African villains are not bad either... It's just that the script smacks of stupidity here and there. Two and a half stars. (10/08/2009)