Sahara
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: April 8, 2005
7.7
USER SCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 165 Ratings
USER RATING DISTRIBUTION
Positive:
113
Mixed:
40
Negative:
12
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User Reviews

User scoreBy dateMost helpful
2
bojinMar 26, 2019
This movie had the budget to be great, but was sorely miscast. I saw an interview with Mat saying he pushed for the rights to make it. So I guess he thought of himself as Dirk. Which he isn't! And then I guess Mat wanted so much money toThis movie had the budget to be great, but was sorely miscast. I saw an interview with Mat saying he pushed for the rights to make it. So I guess he thought of himself as Dirk. Which he isn't! And then I guess Mat wanted so much money to pretend to be Dirk all he could afford for Al, was Steve. WTF! It's like no one read the book! Steve is NO Al! Not in any way! This mess was ego driven and Mat should be held accountable for ruining a product that should have set the wheels in motion for many of Clive's books getting to the screen. But NO, the reason no other films have been made are because of Matthew's ego!… Expand
1 of 2 users found this helpful11
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0
Dostoyevsky3May 12, 2020
Sahara is a mindless action movie with a preposterous plot that should feel shame for its disgraceful story that undermines its female character as a weak and typical damsel in distress that gets saved by two big, smart, strong, and funnySahara is a mindless action movie with a preposterous plot that should feel shame for its disgraceful story that undermines its female character as a weak and typical damsel in distress that gets saved by two big, smart, strong, and funny men. I would have loved this film if it was about two big, smart, strong, and funny ladies that went on a mindless action adventure to save their weak male damsel in distress taken captive by a villainous woman.… Expand
0 of 2 users found this helpful02
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2
MarkB.Jan 21, 2006
Dashing but devil-may-care Matthew McConaughey (A Time to Kill, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days) and goofy but lovable Steve Zahn (Joy Ride, Riding in Cars with Boys) are normally two actors I really like, but they couldn't convince me Dashing but devil-may-care Matthew McConaughey (A Time to Kill, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days) and goofy but lovable Steve Zahn (Joy Ride, Riding in Cars with Boys) are normally two actors I really like, but they couldn't convince me here that they once stood in the same supermarket line, much less have been buddies-in-adventure all their lives, and that's not the least of this astonishingly dull action-comedy's problems. Breck Eisner paces it the way I hope his dad, famed studio exec Michael E., DIDN'T use to run board meetings--literally forty-five minutes pass in which absolutely nothing happens! Obviously this movie wants desperately to reinvent the Indiana Jones wheel, a difficult task but not an impossible one, as both the original Romancing the Stone and 2004's surprisingly refreshing and enjoyable National Treasure certainly prove. [***SPOILERS***]The plot deals with McConaughey's and Zahn's search through the eponymous, scoundrel-filled desert for an extremely rare coin; it takes a seriously wrong turn midway through when it uses the plight of diseased Africans heartlessly used as corporate cannon fodder. The Constant Gardener earns the right to employ this storyline because that's the heart of the film and because it takes that wrenching situation seriously; Sahara uses it as a spiffy little McGuffin, which is nothing short of obscene. (Perhaps this is one reason why Gardener's source author, John LeCarre, is regarded as a real writer while Sahara's, Clive Cussler, is considered a hack.) Almost as offensive is Sahara's total waste of the great William H. Macy in the all-but-invisible role of McConaughey's and Zahn's superior; one of the movie's more curious aspects is its uninspired, supposedly jocular use of several 1974 Top 40 hits ("Sweet Home Alabama", "Right Place Wrong Time"), but in Macy's case it should've added one more: "Billy, Don't Be A Hero (Or Anything Else)".… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
0
SpankaccountAug 31, 2005
Hollyweird schlock at it's worst, but held together with decent visuals. Not worth a rent. That said, my 13 year old loved it.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
0
CJFeb 26, 2006
The worst trash I have ever seen. I would have paid to get out of the cinema while watching it.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
3
DavidHMay 4, 2009
This movie is based on a Clive Cussler novel, who is not exactly Herman Melville, but his adventure novels are great fun and very easy reading for a quick escape. Sadly, if you're a big Cussler fan, you won't like what Hollywood This movie is based on a Clive Cussler novel, who is not exactly Herman Melville, but his adventure novels are great fun and very easy reading for a quick escape. Sadly, if you're a big Cussler fan, you won't like what Hollywood has done to this "Dirk Pitt" adventure. Their most obvious and atrocious error was casting McConoughey in the lead role. Not so much that his talent is in question, but that casting him as Pitt is like casting Steve Buschemi in the life story of John Wayne. i.e.: they could not have picked a more opposite person from the character developed in Cussler's books. Likewise for casting of Dirk's sidekick character. If you loved the books, you won't be able to get past the horrible casting choices. If not, it comes across as a fairly high energy but lightweight adventure movie.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
0
LuisV.Oct 16, 2005
This movie is not bad The Movie and Penelope as an actrees are what follows, both are absolutly terrible dont waste your money on this garbage.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
2
KenRJun 8, 2020
Another McConaughey fiasco, all bluster, no brain and a huge loss of money. Hard to believe that people starve while multiple millions are wasted on junk like this. Great locations, big-budget effects, big music score all wrapped around aAnother McConaughey fiasco, all bluster, no brain and a huge loss of money. Hard to believe that people starve while multiple millions are wasted on junk like this. Great locations, big-budget effects, big music score all wrapped around a trite, silly violent script. No wonder the disappointed novelist sued the movie makers for this mess but to no avail, everybody lost money on this non-event. Seems to be a lot of silly folk in movieland to let this even get past the scripting and production stages. Stay away from this desert if you’re looking for a good story - if looking to fill an empty head with a lot of hot air and sand, you’ve come to the right place.

For very easily pleased adults who mislead their kids.

If you like McConaughey, try "The Free State Of Jones" for a more honest approach to storytelling and action.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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