Sahara

There was a twenty five year hiatus for Clive Cussler's main man Dirk Pitt and for the life of me I have no idea why. The character of Pitt was made for the big screen harkening back to the adventure heroes of old. Oh, it certainly helps that he is the ficticious alter-ego of Cussler himself much in the vein of Fleming and Deighton. Sadly I must confess to avoiding this film as I was unhappy with Matthew McConaughey cast as Pitt but much as Daniel Craig walked away owning the James Bond role, McConaughey from the first scene stands tall as a perfect fit for Pitt. He provides the charm, wit and brawn mixed with supreme confidence which has made Dirk Pitt a multi-million book seller for Cussler and if the word istrue Clive was unhappy with this film, then like I mentioned before I have no idea why. Is the film believable? No, but who the hell cares....it's a action adventure...leave your brain at the popcorn stand and enjoy the ride. Oh, and along for said ride is Penelope Cruz, she of the most amazing philtrum in the known universe, as well as Steve Zahn who is perfect as the comic relief giving buddy here. With support from Delroy Lindo and William H. Macy I've often heard complaints about SAHARA mainly concerning how underused the fine secondary cast was.....to this I say bollocks! This is the DIRK PITT show, we didn't come here to see the leading lady wax the light philosophic...we came to see her scream, need saving and look mighty damn hot while she does it and Cruz to her credit seems to get it. The secondary characters, thereto back Pitt up and keep the story moving along....nothing more. This was one hell of an ambitious project for director Breck Eisner and if he brings the same style to the upcoming CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON remake we should all be in for a special treat. See, what makes SAHARA so special is it is a film for the whole family. Sure, there is plenty of gun play and a bit of mild violence but overall this baby is a clean as a whistle making it a rarity in today's market. I can only hope it won't take another twenty five years for Dirk Pitt to grace the silver screen.