Sahara (2005)

Featured Audience Ratings

• John M

  
  Im pretty sure i wasnt suppose to enjoy this movie at all. Is is suppose to be horrible according to reviews but what i found was 2 hours of fun, humor and action. Now that I know this is a book. I think I need to go look them up.

• moon r

  
  Standard buddy action flick adventure fare where gold hunters wind up saving an African country in the process. Fun if predictable, the kind of fantasy where our heroes have a gunfight with a whole army and never get shot even once. Penelope Cruz plays the buxom babe while Steve… More
  Standard buddy action flick adventure fare where gold hunters wind up saving an African country in the process. Fun if predictable, the kind of fantasy where our heroes have a gunfight with a whole army and never get shot even once. Penelope Cruz plays the buxom babe while Steve Zahn handles the capable buddy chores.

• Phil H

  
  So I've read this is THE most expensive flop in Hollywood history haha was a bit of a surprise to me I must say but I can see why really. The whole franchise prospects based on the 'Dirk Pitt' novels has collapsed after this first film which isn't a big deal really… More
  So I've read this is THE most expensive flop in Hollywood history haha was a bit of a surprise to me I must say but I can see why really. The whole franchise prospects based on the 'Dirk Pitt' novels has collapsed after this first film which isn't a big deal really seeing as the character is a combination of 'Indy' and 'Bond' and not really required. The film is really a poor man's 'Indiana Jones', a poor man's 'Indiana Jones' in the present day basically, yet somehow the film is almost two hours long and really quite dull. The whole film consists of the heroes running around African desert whilst being shot at by various people really, there is a silly plot about trying to find a buried American civil war ironclad warship and also a plot about stopping most of the African water supply getting poisoned. Personally I feel like they have gotten the era's mixed up, McConaughey looks and acts like a kind of dashing cinematic silver screen legend of the 30's-40's yet he is in the present day and accompanied by the rather whiny and annoying Zahn. Both the main leads are always clad in desert colour outfits which all seems to have stemmed from 'Indy', there is the all too common vintage car racing through the desert whilst been shot at sequence, Cruz is completely pointless throughout, it tries to be funny but fails and the ending is a rip roaring anti-climax. To be frank I think this failed because its set in the present day and we already have a character for that and his name is 'James Bond'. These type of adventures seem to work better when period set, 'The Mummy' films and 'The Phantom' are good examples of this type of boys own wilderness set adventures that work in another era. I still don't get how the 'CSS Texas' was shown at the start of the film in Virgina, US and ends up in the Niger River, Africa, anyone?? plus on a final note..'Dirk Pitt' has to be one of the dumbest attempts at a 'cool' heroic name I've come across for some time hehe.

• Kase V

  
  Everything about 'Sahara' feels forced. The plot, the action, the characters. Nothing gives off an interesting vibe because it all seems so unoriginal. These treasure hunt movies always feel like a step in the wrong direction to me, and this is another large example. It may… More
  Everything about 'Sahara' feels forced. The plot, the action, the characters. Nothing gives off an interesting vibe because it all seems so unoriginal. These treasure hunt movies always feel like a step in the wrong direction to me, and this is another large example. It may provide some mild fun, and Zahn's performance may offer some goofy fun, but 'Sahara' already fails on so many different levels. 20 minutes in, you can already sense the mindlessness the film has to offer.

• Sajin P

  
  Usually I'm a sucker for treasure-hunt movies. No matter how lame they are, almost every time I end up humming to the swashbuckling music themes from the movie. But SAHARA turned out to be one of the biggest disappointments in the above-said movie genre. Sahara tries to squeeze… More
  Usually I'm a sucker for treasure-hunt movies. No matter how lame they are, almost every time I end up humming to the swashbuckling music themes from the movie. But SAHARA turned out to be one of the biggest disappointments in the above-said movie genre. Sahara tries to squeeze in a plethora of plots into one single movie - with a treasure to be found, a mysterious plague to be investigated, a dictator to be overthrown, natives to be rescued... and then it screws up further by giving none of the characters a strong enough motivation to chase any of these missions.

• Jeff "

  
  I don't understand why this film has gotten so much flack. Sahara is a fun, action adventure film based on the adventures of Dirk Pitt, famously created by author Clive Cussler. Many fans of the book have vilified the film. I haven't yet read the book,. but I found this… More
  I don't understand why this film has gotten so much flack. Sahara is a fun, action adventure film based on the adventures of Dirk Pitt, famously created by author Clive Cussler. Many fans of the book have vilified the film. I haven't yet read the book,. but I found this film very entertaining and better than expected. Sahara works well due to the fact that it's a fun, action film with bits of comedy thrown in for good measure. Breck Eisner does a good job at directing, and Sahara is an action packed adventure. Matthew McConaughey is terrific as Dirk Pitt, and Steve Zahn is amusing as his sidekick. The rest of the cast are good as well. Sahara tell the story of Dirk Pitt who is searching for a Civil war Iron Clad battleship in the desert of West Africa. A n entertaining film from start to finish, Sahara at times feels like a cheap version of Indiana Jones. However the Indiana Jones films are of course way better than this. Sahara has the right formula to entertaining, I thought it was an exciting film that was plainly fun to watch. Even if the film ain't perfect, ir definitely doesn't deserve all the negativity it has received. The film is far better than I had expected it to be, and considering the skills that McConaughey and Zahn have, they deliver something good, entertaining and enjoyable on screen. If you're in the mood for some mindless, entertainment you definitely should check out Sahara. You may be surprised at how good it really is. Sahara is a well conceived action adventure that is never boring and will most likely give you a fun viewing experience.

• danny d

  
  a lot better than i thought it would be

• Sophie B

  
  The plot was fairly interesting but it was a bit hard at the beginning when it kept swapping between the two stories however it did get better. I thought the plague story was much more interesting but it didn't get shown as much. It was very predictable and the action was there… More
  The plot was fairly interesting but it was a bit hard at the beginning when it kept swapping between the two stories however it did get better. I thought the plague story was much more interesting but it didn't get shown as much. It was very predictable and the action was there just for the fun on it. Cruz did an ok job.

• KJ P

  
  Weak! It is saved by a few really cool action scenes though!

• Jens S

  
  People who enjoyed the National Treasure films should have a good time with this action adventure as well. Beautiful settings, a cast who obviously had fun and plenty of action makes for an entertaining film, that certainly won't win any awards for originality or plot twists but… More
  People who enjoyed the National Treasure films should have a good time with this action adventure as well. Beautiful settings, a cast who obviously had fun and plenty of action makes for an entertaining film, that certainly won't win any awards for originality or plot twists but easily keeps you interested for the two hours. Additionally, the film doesn't take itself too seriously and knows exactly what it is good at. Whoever doesn't expect more from a film should not regret spending two hours with these treasure hunting adventurers in the desert.

• Wahida K

  
  Tiny bit of everything, what I mostly enjoyed was the Humor in the Movie.

• Anthony L

  
  It?s all good fun but it ain?t no Indiana Jones!

• Bruce B

  
  Excellent Movie base on Clive Cussler's book, which I will now read after seeing this movie, though somehow I don't think the book will have the same spin and action packed adventure with a little slapstick comedy added. First time I saw this was in the movie theater when it… More
  Excellent Movie base on Clive Cussler's book, which I will now read after seeing this movie, though somehow I don't think the book will have the same spin and action packed adventure with a little slapstick comedy added. First time I saw this was in the movie theater when it came out, and at that time it just didn't capture me as it did when I watched it on my TV at home, Maybe it was the $5.50 drink or the $7.00 popcorn that put me in a bad mood. Matthew McConaughey plays Dirk Pitt our star adventure, his partner who gives and adds 100 percent Steve Zahn ( Al Giordino). The Zahn and McConaughey combination is something for the future. Both of these fellows are searching for the lost confederate gold from the civil war, which somehow ended up in a river in Africa, meanwhile Eve Rojas played by beautiful Penelope Cruz is a World Health Organization doctor who is searching for a deadly virus and enters Mali. Here a kingpin tries to eliminate her after she finds that the origin of the virus is coming from his waste disposal company, Dirks job, find the gold and save the doctors, all packed into one exciting movie which rates 4 1/2 stars.

• Thomas B

  
  i really liked this film. matthew mcconaughey, though good, was outplayed by most of the rest of his cast. except of course penelope cruz. interesting movie with some funny bits strewn through

• Lorenzo v

  
  <i>"Dirk Pitt. Adventure has a new name."</i> Matthew McConaughey stars as explorer and adventurer Dirk Pitt in this adaptation of the best-selling novel by Clive Cussler. Pitt thinks he may have found both a fortune and the answer to a long-standing mystery… More
  <i>"Dirk Pitt. Adventure has a new name."</i> Matthew McConaughey stars as explorer and adventurer Dirk Pitt in this adaptation of the best-selling novel by Clive Cussler. Pitt thinks he may have found both a fortune and the answer to a long-standing mystery when he discovers a rare coin in the waters of a river in West Africa. During the Civil War, an ironclad battleship with a valuable cargo went missing, and Pitt's theory is that the coin places the ship somewhere in the Sahara Desert. Pitt and his goofy sidekick, Al Giordino (Steve Zahn), set out to find it, but along the way they make the acquaintance of Dr. Eva Rojas (Penélope Cruz), a scientist and physician who is trying to determine the source of a strange and deadly disease sweeping the nation. As Eva joins Dirk and Al, they begin to wonder if the mysteries they're trying to uncover might be somehow linked. <b><u>Review</u></b> Basically this is a weaker Indiana Jones movie, with the hero getting out of narrow escapes and searching for treasure while trying to fight evil. The big difference here is that Dirk Pitt is a former Navy Seal, not a scholar like Indy. It's a rather formulaic action/thriller with very little in the way of surprises. If you think that 'x' will happen, it does. The only thing that surprised me was how good Matthew McConaughey was as an action star, alhtough he is a little too tanned. While he's no Schwarzenegger or even Harrison Ford, he pulled off the role of Dirk Pitt very well. Steve Zahn also provides excellent comic relief. I don't know if its worthy enough to spawn sequels (although it is a little bit late for that now), but it could be a big hit if they still wanna push through with it, which is obviously what Paramount thought when it bought the rights to Clive Cussler's book (who wrote tons of sequels). Still, its not a bad movie and may be worth your while.

• Luke B

  
  The very definition of enjoyable romp. McConaughey is perfect in looks and charisma as the strong hero type, and Zahn plays off him wonderfully as the comedy sidekick. The interesting thing here is that they are not an odd couple. They are in fact very similar, which only makes sense… More
  The very definition of enjoyable romp. McConaughey is perfect in looks and charisma as the strong hero type, and Zahn plays off him wonderfully as the comedy sidekick. The interesting thing here is that they are not an odd couple. They are in fact very similar, which only makes sense although some may find Zahns character lacking a point. There doesn't seem to be much for him to do that McConaughey couldn't do himself. There's a real feel for camaraderie not only with these two but with Macy as well. Again he is not the typical angry boss, he supports his guys even if he is a bit upset with some of their methods. It should also be noted how these are not your typical treasure hunting heroes. In any other film they would refuse to help Cruz's Dr, preferring to go after the gold. Here however they are more than willing to help. Perhaps they are just too damn good. The action scenes are wonderful, and the film has no problem in jumping huge gaps of time or logic if it serves the story. There are some truly memorable laugh out loud lines amongst the expertly paced witty banter. It's certainly an afternoon film which reduces the need to think.

• Ross C

  
  An absurdly silly eco-adventure thriller with a terribly unfocused plot. Three marine-based adventure-scientists hunt for a missing ironclad in the Sahara desert. Somewhere in the middle, the story disappears off into various dull tangents as they get on the wrong side of the local… More
  An absurdly silly eco-adventure thriller with a terribly unfocused plot. Three marine-based adventure-scientists hunt for a missing ironclad in the Sahara desert. Somewhere in the middle, the story disappears off into various dull tangents as they get on the wrong side of the local warlord and end up saving the World from a polluted ocean. Odd.

• Al S

  
  A wild, thrilling, hilarious and tremendously exciting action-packed adventure. Non-stop, pulse-pounding fun that never lets up. One of the most enjoyable adventures since Pirates of the Caribbean and National treasure. It's funny, explosive and never let's up for a minute.… More
  A wild, thrilling, hilarious and tremendously exciting action-packed adventure. Non-stop, pulse-pounding fun that never lets up. One of the most enjoyable adventures since Pirates of the Caribbean and National treasure. It's funny, explosive and never let's up for a minute. A buddy comedy and a love interest in a totally cool action movie. One incrediably entertaining film. An adreniline-pumping rollar coaster ride that never stops. Great action and great laughs. Matthew McConaughey and Steve Zahn are perfectly cast as the two wise-cracking buddy adventurers with great chemistry and wicked humor.

• Sanjaya &

  
  great adventure but not great story... hate the ending... the ending doesn't gave a finishing of the problems that shows up before...

• Jon L

  
  This was just a fun movie, but nothing ground breaking.

Read all 20 featured audience ratings