STAR RATING: ***** The Works **** Just Misses the Mark *** That Little Bit In Between ** Lagging Behind * The Pits
Adventurer Dirk Pitt (Matthew McCoughnehey) travels to Nigeria, Africa to retrieve an ancient battleship. However, he stumbles upon a travesty. The people are dying or terribly diseased because of polluted water from the wells. There is, of course, a more insidious reason for this: the typically corrupt African government and a plot that spreads all the way to the States. Pitt, his sidekick and Eva (Penelope Cruz) a beautiful doctor determined to stop the spread of the disease, must battle to save the day.
Sahara is a slick, glossy effort that has a pleasingly polished feel all the way. It has a neat soundtrack and some fairly exciting action sequences. But, fun as they are, there's not nearly enough of them and the disappointing lack of action leaves the film to get a little boring along with the wavey plot that meanders about a bit for two hours.
McCoughnehey isn't my favourite leading man. A bit too smug and coy for my liking. His sidekick is little more than your typical wise-cracking Hollywood fall guy and similarly Cruz can do little more than be the usual steely, determined love interest you see in films like this. As for the rest of the supporting cast, William H Macy is pleasing but Delroy Lindo gets hardly any screen-time in his role.
A film with some serious flaws, but still a fairly enjoyable piece of Sunday afternoon BBC 1 entertainment. ***
Adventurer Dirk Pitt (Matthew McCoughnehey) travels to Nigeria, Africa to retrieve an ancient battleship. However, he stumbles upon a travesty. The people are dying or terribly diseased because of polluted water from the wells. There is, of course, a more insidious reason for this: the typically corrupt African government and a plot that spreads all the way to the States. Pitt, his sidekick and Eva (Penelope Cruz) a beautiful doctor determined to stop the spread of the disease, must battle to save the day.
Sahara is a slick, glossy effort that has a pleasingly polished feel all the way. It has a neat soundtrack and some fairly exciting action sequences. But, fun as they are, there's not nearly enough of them and the disappointing lack of action leaves the film to get a little boring along with the wavey plot that meanders about a bit for two hours.
McCoughnehey isn't my favourite leading man. A bit too smug and coy for my liking. His sidekick is little more than your typical wise-cracking Hollywood fall guy and similarly Cruz can do little more than be the usual steely, determined love interest you see in films like this. As for the rest of the supporting cast, William H Macy is pleasing but Delroy Lindo gets hardly any screen-time in his role.
A film with some serious flaws, but still a fairly enjoyable piece of Sunday afternoon BBC 1 entertainment. ***