Fun Film Fails at Finish

Sahara

Director: Breck Eisner

Starring: Mathew McConaughey, Steve Zahn, Penelope Cruz, William H, Mace, Rainn Wilson

MPAA: Rated PG-13 for action violence.

I have two questions here regarding Sahara, where it he sequel and why is it only a 5.9 out of 10 on the IMDB? I am not saying that this is a brilliant film and should have swept at the Oscars. It was a silly over the top action adventure film. But in the midst of terrible remakes and bad sequels and a deluge of “B” average action films, Sahara is a little gem. I really wish the makers of Indiana Jones 4 had gotten a little assistance from the makers of Sahara; then it might have been worth my time, when instead it was a deplorable movie with no redeeming qualities. On the other hand Sahara is a witty, intelligent movie, with dynamic and exciting actors and a plot more ridiculous than most of the James Bond films.



What makes this a fun film is not the amazing special effects, the over the top story line, and the exciting fight and chase scenes, it is instead the crazy characters that add spice and life to an otherwise cookie cutter adventure film. Mathew McConaughey and Steve Zahn are the perfect buddy film actors. They are a great duo that have excellent comedic timing and play off each other extremely well. They have the perfect bormance going on. There is none of that awkward love triangle going on when Penelope Cruz steps into the film, it is obvious she and McConaughey are supposed to be the love interest – for the duration of the film only, as it is in all action flicks – and Zahn doesn’t get man jealous as is so often the habit of filmmakers in these situation. Instead he is goofy and funny, and has a great laugh-out-loud line every two or three minutes. The two stars are just dang funny together.



Then there are the characters played by William H. Macy and Rain Wilson, also hilarious side characters that just add more flavor to the soup. Macy is the Admiral, the money backing the expedition. He is the fatherly figure whose stuff is constantly getting blown up, but things always turn out right in the end so it is okay. And Rain Wilson is the inexperienced techie, who bumbles around in the middle of explosions, and we forget that he is Dwight and instead see a goofy, scared, nerd, so funny.



I realize the plot is almost too much to handle. The fate of the world is being decided in the midst of war torn Africa and only these two treasure hunters with the help of a very sexy doctor (Penelope Cruz) can save it. But it is the build up that is interesting. The characters are so much fun that you really just say, Who cares if this is unrealistic and could never happen, it’s fun!” And it is a different kind of fun than the ridiculous Transformers blockbusters, where computer animated machines beat each other up, and the live actors run around green screen sets pretending to act scared. Instead it is a James Bond film with Indiana Jones, and you just smile and go along with the ride. I just don’t understand why people enjoy summer junk like the Transformers movies and then don’t appreciate clever adventures like Sahara. I would put Sahara at a strong 7.4 out of 10, for its good characters and fun script. The Transformers movies might get 6.5 out of 10 on a day when I am feeling dang generous.

The movie has a great build up, and is supported by strong characters. It is a little over the top,true, but the biggest problem with the movie is where the heads, off into plot la la land. The plot just gets too big and too ridiculous. It doesn’t get confusing or muddled or anything like that, it just gets too over the top, and that is what disrupts how good the film could have been. It is almost “Austin Powers” bad in how ridiculous it gets… only the villain isn’t holding the world hostage for “one hundred million dollars.” Overall though, Sahara was a fun popcorn flick.

Sex/nudity – 3 out of 10 – a man and a woman kiss on a beach in swimsuits. We see cleavage and he is bare-chested. We see a man in swim trunks only walking out of the water. A woman wears cleavage revealing clothes.

Violence/Gore – 6 out of 10 – A lot of fist a cuffs, men getting shot, people being shot at. A humanitarian group is massacred, dead bodies are seen. We see a few people shot, no blood is seen. A plague leaves people sick and bloodied; many dead bodies are seen lying around. There are a lot of explosions and people dying but it is all done in a way that is a little unrealistic and there is very little blood splattering or anything like that.

Profanity – maybe 1 F-word, 10 to 15 mild profanities and religious exclimations.