Mark:

Sahara is the film that the money-men behind it hope will lead to a new franchise – Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt and Al Giordino in adventures all over the globe, saving us from crooked corporations, evil megalomaniacs and such. Whether it works out is yet to be seen, but this is an adequate start.

Adequate? Yes, there is nothing that’s bad about this film – the acting, direction, action sequences and cinematography are all fine – but there is nothing outstanding either. Disappointingly, Sahara drags a little at times, one of the only real flaws as such, but what stops it from being a great movie is the plot. As much as I enjoy reading Cussler’s books, they are pretty much standard fare, and this movie adaptation is no different. The outcome is known from the outset, not in itself a disaster, but when every step along the way is easily predicted, you don’t even enjoy the ride.

McConaughey and Zahn, although younger than I had imagined Pitt and Giordino to be, have the right banter to successfully amuse the most critical audience. They smirk and smart crack their way across the world, winning women and battles with the same seat-of-their-pants heroism. If only their exploits were something we haven’t already seen so many times before.

Macy as Sandecker, (again, not quite what I had imagined), works, but I really hope Cruz won’t be back in any more films in this series. Her WHO research doctor is wooden and unrealisticly naïve. There has been talk this is her best English-language role, which certainly makes me less likely to see any of her other work.

The settings in Sahara are spectacular – sweeping sand dunes, yachts speeding along rivers, pristine beaches and blue water. Thankfully, the cinematography is straight down the line, allowing us to really see the beauty of the region.

Apart from its pace, which is slightly off, there is much fun to be had. Although not earth-shatteringly original, Sahara is often exciting and amusing, and is a reasonable conversion of the source novel. Hopefully enough money is made to encourage another in Cussler’s series of Dirk Pitt novels, as I think I could get used to McConaughey, Zahn and Macy together.