Matthew McConaughey plays Dirk Pitt, an adventurer who, along with sidekick Al Giordino (Steve Zahn), is searching for an American Civil War ironclad buried in the Sahara desert's sands (it sailed there when the region was more temperate, obviously). But they get diverted into helping scientist Dr Eva Rojas (Penélope Cruz), stop a plague that threatens to destroy all ocean life. As the trio battle the baddies, evil African dictator General Zateb Kazim (Lennie James) and his French millionaire accomplice Yves Massarde (Lambert Wilson), so their quest becomes more and more perilous.
The film, released in 2005 and based on Clive Cussler's novel, is an out-and-out actioner, aimed squarely at the audience who love the Indiana Jones movies and Romancing the Stone. After setting up the unlikely premise of the plot, director Breck Eisner (son of Michael) simply sets up and thrillingly shoots chases involving almost every form of transport known to man, interspersed with the requisite number of explosions. And of course, the mythical ironclad appears at the end, playing a vital role in saving the day.
Sahara is a Film programme that first aired in 2005 and has been classified a 12 certificate.
