Susan Granger’s review of “Sahara” (Paramount Pictures)
Clive Cussler’s novels about intrepid Dirk Pitt of the National Underwater Marine Agency (NUMA) are ideal for the screen and, if “Sahara” is a success, you can bet there will be more. The prologue begins in 1865 at the end of the Civil War, when the last Confederate ironclad, the Texas, mysteriously disappeared. Cut to 2005 when Dirk Pitt (Matthew McConaughey) finds a rare gold Confederate coin in West Africa, indicating that the Texas must have made its way across the Atlantic and up the Niger River. While searching for the lost battleship with his wisecracking sidekick Al Giordano (Steve Zahn), Pitt becomes involved with Dr. Eva Rojas (Penelope Cruz) of the World Health Organization who suspects that the origin of a deadly plague is in strife-torn Mali, where a dastardly Frenchman (Lambert Wilson) does eco-business. So their treasure hunt gains greater global significance, preventing “the Chernobyl of the Atlantic,” which, presumably placates NUMA’s watchful Admiral Sandecker (William H. Macy). Directed by Brett Eisner (son of former Disney CEO Michael Eisner) from a sprawling, somewhat illogical screenplay with four credited writers, it, nevertheless, evokes some of the guilty pleasures of “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Expertly photographed by Seamus McGarvey and edited by Andrew MacRitchie, it propels us through derring-do in sub-Saharan Africa. While McConaughey displays a deep tan and lightweight charm, Cruz is just eye-candy. And the buddy relationship is summed up when Giordano tells Pitt: “I’ll find the bomb! You get the girl!” On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Sahara” is a swashbuckling 7. It’s an action-packed adventure but the key question is: Can Matthew McConaughey make Dirk Pitt into another Indiana Jones?
