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Tell Others About This Page By Using This Button "SAHARA" (2005) (Matthew McConaughey, Steve Zahn) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Moderate Moderate Extreme Moderate Extreme Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild Minor Extreme None Mild Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Mild Mild None Moderate Extreme QUICK TAKE: Action/Adventure: An explorer's quest to find a Civil War era ironclad leads him and his crew to Africa where they dig up far more than they were expecting. PLOT: Dirk Pitt (MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY) is an adventurous naval historian who's in search of a Civil War era ironclad that disappeared some 140 years ago. Working from the salvage ship run by Admiral Jim Sandecker (WILLIAM H. MACY), Dirk thinks he's located the old ship in the unlikeliest of places -- the African desert. Of course, he's only working off a hunch, but he convinces Sandecker to allow him, his longtime friend and fellow explorer Al Giordino (STEVE ZAHN) and deckhand Rudi (RAINN WILSON) to make a brief excursion to hunt for it. At the same time, Dr. Eva Rojas (PENELOPE CRUZ) and fellow physician Dr. Frank Hopper (GLYNN TURMAN) of the World Health Organization are in Lagos hoping to discover the source of what may be a contagious and deadly disease. The two groups' diverse paths put both in danger, especially when they find themselves in the middle of a modern day civil war where guerilla forces try to undermine the brutal rule of warlord General Kazim (LENNIE JAMES). When the two groups eventually team together, that draws the attention of Kazim and French entrepreneur Massarde (LAMBERT WILSON) who don't want them to discover what they're really up to. From that point on, Dirk, Al and Eva must contend with numerous dangers as they try to stop the bad guys, contain the possible contagion and find the missing, historic ironclad. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? The action-adventure element and/or main cast members might draw teenagers looking for some escapist entertainment. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For action violence. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY plays an adventurous naval historian whose quest to find a missing ironclad leads him to Africa and into the heart of danger. He throws all caution to the wind in most everything he does, fights various villains, acts heroically, uses some profanity and drinks some. STEVE ZAHN plays his longtime friend and fellow adventurer who's not quite as gung-ho as Dirk, but goes along for the ride anyway. He also uses some profanity, drinks, and fights various villains. PENELOPE CRUZ plays a doctor with the World Health Organization who's determined to find and stop the cause of what appears to be a deadly contagion. She fights some bad guys and even kills one to save the life of another person. LAMBERT WILSON plays a French entrepreneur who turns out to be in cahoots with General Kazim and is poisoning many people due to his industrial endeavor. LENNIE JAMES plays the evil warlord who doesn't care who dies as he also tries to have Dirk and the others killed. GLYNN TURMAN plays another doctor working with Eva investigating the mysterious contagion. WILLIAM H. MACY plays Dirk's boss who reluctantly agrees to let him and the others go out on their quest to find the ironclad. He smokes cigars several times. RAINN WILSON plays one of his crewmembers who's in over his head when he ends up teamed with Dirk and Al on their quest. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a quick look at the content found in this action/adventure film that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of some mild expletives, while some colorful phrases are also uttered. Some cleavage, the top of a man's butt and a woman in a bikini are seen. Violence is plentiful but mostly of the action and adventure variety rather than graphic realism. Even so, there are various violent deaths by various means, as well as attempts on lives and various instances of fighting or striking others. Most of the violence is blood-free, but some poisoning victims have bad lesions on their faces and bad-looking eyes. Some of that material and other moments of peril may be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers, while the fighting, stunts and other action may be enticing for some kids to imitate. Various characters drink, while one smokes cigars several times. The film's villains and a few other characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there's some bouncy camerawork from time to time, such as that shot out of a moving car. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Miscellaneous people have drinks at a reception, including Frank and Massarde who have champagne. Al bets a bottle and then a case of tequila about whether they'll find the long missing ship. Dirk has what looks like a beer and Al later has the same on their boat. We see a sign for cold drinks at a local market (although it doesn't indicate if they're alcoholic or not). Dirk pours and then has some tequila. He offers some to Eva, but she declines. Dirk and Al have liquor in front of them. Al mentions getting a bottle of tequila. Miscellaneous people have drinks. BLOOD/GORE We briefly see some bad looking lesions on a boy's face and he also has bad looking eyes. We see a man with similar lesions on his face, and he also has the same bad looking eyes (he may be dead). A harpoon goes through a man's head (with bloody results). We briefly and partially see what look like human remains (in the dark). We briefly see a few bad looking lesions on a man's face. Frank has a tiny bloody cut across his nose. We see other bodies on the ground, some with just a little blood on their clothing. Eva falls through a rusted part of a 19th century ship and lands among various human skeletal remains. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE The film's various villains all have bad attitudes, especially in terms of killing or attempting to kill others. Dirk deals with a black marketeer. General Kazim hopes (in a mean and careless way) that the disease (which is really a poison) kills its victims quickly. Massarde is in cahoots with General Kazim. We see that General Kazim has various prisoners in Massarde's facility. Massarde lies to General Kazim that Eva is dead. About the toxins they're creating, General Kazim tells Massarde, "Don't worry, it's Africa -- nobody cares about Africa." Sandecker lies to a government official about some discovered gold. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling or suspenseful to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. We see a needle going toward an arm to take a blood sample (no blood or actual insertion, just the motion of the needle toward the arm). Eva and Frank slowly make their way through a desert home at night, not sure of what they'll find. Eva loses her footing while going down a vertical water well and briefly falls until the rope Frank's holding catches her. While down in that well, Eva hears gunfire up top and must then untie the rope around her waist when a soldier starts pulling up that rope. She then races to bury a glow stick at the bottom and readies for a soldier to shoot down into the well, but that ultimately doesn't happen. Dirk tells Al and Eva to unarm themselves, raise their hands and slowly exit their vehicle. They do and are then surrounded by various guerilla forces. Dirk, Al and Eva jump from their camels to the side of a moving train in the desert. Eva jumps last and Dirk grabs her, with the two scrambling to get to the top of the train just as a soldier in the back car gets suspicious and readies his gun as he looks around the side. Sandecker learns that poisons from the river might reach the ocean and kill everything. Al races against time to find some explosives that are set to destroy a large solar plant, while Dirk simultaneously tries to save Eva from Massarde and others by fighting them atop a very tall tower. Dirk holds a machine gun on a chopper pilot, with Massarde then holding his handgun on Eva. A goon then slaps the chopper door into Dirk and the two fight, with Dirk getting the worst of the blows. Eva then kicks Massarde who's knocked into the pilot, causing the chopper to spin around with its tail hitting Dirk and nearly knocking him off the tower (he dangles from the side). The goon steps down onto Dirk's hands as he dangles there, with Eva then jumping on the goon's back with her arms around his neck. They struggle until he hits and knocks her unconscious. The goon then comes at Dirk with a knife, but the latter drops off the side of the tower (he's okay as he landed on a movable solar panel). Dirk then climbs back to the top and races toward the goon who's about to kill Eva with a knife. Dirk kicks him away and must then avoid the goon slicing at him with the knife. Dirk eventually kicks the man off the tower, with the latter falling a long distance before landing on a solar panel (seen from a distance, and he's presumably killed). Al runs and jumps out of a tunnel just in time (and dangles from some nearby equipment) as a fiery blast races out of it. Eva falls through a rusted part of a 19th century ship and lands among various human skeletal remains. GUNS/WEAPONS Handguns/Machine guns/Rifles/Knives/Tanks/Helicopter gunship/Cannons: Seen or used to threaten, wound or kill others and/or cause property damage. See "Violence" for details. Massarde brings some vintage pistols to General Kazim. We see an old tank on the side of the road. Later, we see tanks and other armored vehicles. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Quit screwing around," "What the hell /are we doing/took you so long?" "Get your butt up here," "Driving me nuts," "Gonna freak," "Where in the hell did you get this?" "Kiss my ass," "How the hell you'd get it?" "Sure the hell looks like it," "Really starting to piss me off," "Where the hell /are we/are you?" "A damn good question," "Save your ass" and an incomplete "Piece of..." Some of the fighting, stunts and other action may be enticing for some kids to imitate. JUMP SCENES A sick boy suddenly sits up. A man suddenly grabs Eva. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) An extreme amount of action and heavily dramatic music plays in the film, as does some suspenseful and ominous chords. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 8 hells, 3 asses, 3 damns, 2 craps, 2 uses of "Oh my God" and 1 use each of "Jesus Christ" and "Oh dear God." SEX/NUDITY We see a photo of a bikini clad woman but the image of a man's head has been put on her body. We briefly see some of Eva's cleavage as she struggles with some attackers. Eva sees the very top of Al's butt crack as his pants ride down low. We see Rudi with just a towel around his waist. Eva shows some cleavage a few times in her top. We see Eva in a small bikini and Dirk in swim trunks on the beach and then in the surf where they frolic and briefly kiss. SMOKING Sandecker smokes cigars several times and is seen with unlit ones at others. We see a cigar on an ashtray. The guys use a lit cigar to ignite a boat's cut fuel line. TENSE FAMILY SCENES None. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT The American Civil War. The World Health Organization. How a Civil War era ironclad could end up in the African desert. Contagious diseases. Industrial waste poisoning groundwater. We see lots of canisters of toxins and other such waste in an underground holding facility. VIOLENCE We see a Civil War battle on a river featuring an ironclad warship, with various explosions going off, and some men are knocked down by them (no blood and all done in an action rather than realistic fashion). Cannons fire back and forth between the opposing forces, with lots of resultant explosions, including a blast into the Ironclad. A man suddenly grabs Eva and struggles with her. She knees him in the crotch or gut and then runs up to two other men who grab her, force her to the ground and one has her by the throat. He pulls out a knife and raises it above her, but a harpoon goes through his hand (with bloody results) and Dirk then fights one of the men, avoiding repeated knife swipes at him and eventually has the guy with his arm around the man's neck. A boat pulls another boat over, causing several men to fall off it. Dirk falls onto a boat from his own and then avoids several knife swipes by a guy on it. Blows and punches are exchanged between the two, with Dirk then kicking the guy off into the water. The pilot shoots at Dirk and then at Al in another boat. A truck mounted machine gun opens fire on Al in his boat. Rudi shoots a flare into a truck, but a guy in it shoots his machine gun back at him. His errant fire, however hits another villain's boat (the guy appears to live). A Truck and the man in it drive off a cliff into a river, with a very hard landing. A villain shoots at Dirk who's hanging onto a boat, but the villain's boat then runs across dry land (no apparent injury). Two more boats riddle Dirk's boat with machine gun fire, but no one is hurt. We then have a boat chase with more machine gun fire and the bad boat driving over the top of a local fishing boat. The good guys then cut their own fuel line, arm it with a lit cigar and then jump off (Dirk grabs Rudi as he does). Their boat then explodes and takes out two boats of bad guys (we don't know the status of any injuries or deaths for those onboard them). We hear gunfire and then see a dead man draped over the top of a well. A soldier then hits Frank, knocking him to his knees as General Kazim prepares a pistol and then shoots Frank dead (no impact or blood). Other soldiers then set several trucks on fire. We see other bodies on the ground, some with just a little blood on their clothing. Dirk and Al hit various soldiers, with Al firing a machine gun at some and then being fired upon by others (he later races toward a man who shoots at him). During that, Dirk struggles with a man who lifts him from the ground. Another bad guy comes out and tries to shoot him, but ends up hitting the other man instead. Dirk then grabs a gun and shoots that man dead. Another prepares to shoot Dirk, but Eva shoots him dead instead. Al hits a guard in the face with the butt of his machine gun (knocking him out). A goon hits Dirk in the face with the butt of his machine gun, knocking him out. Dirk and Al find themselves cuffed in the back of truck that's headed down a desert road. They manage to disconnect and then push the bed out, and they and it land hard on the desert road. Still cuffed to it, Dirk and Al walk through the desert and then end up sliding down a tall dune and landing hard at the bottom. Dirk holds a machine gun on a chopper pilot, with Massarde then holding his handgun on Eva. A goon then slaps the chopper door into Dirk and the two fight, with Dirk getting the worst of the blows. Eva then kicks Massarde who's knocked into the pilot, causing the chopper to spin around with its tail hitting Dirk and nearly knocking him off the tower (he dangles from the side). The goon steps down onto Dirk's hands as he dangles there, with Eva then jumping on the goon's back with her arms around his neck. They struggle until he hits and knocks her unconscious. The goon then comes at Dirk with a knife, but the latter drops off the side of the tower (he's okay as he landed on a movable solar panel). Dirk then climbs back to the top and races toward the goon who's about to kill Eva with a knife. Dirk kicks him away and must then avoid the goon slicing at him with the knife. Dirk eventually kicks the man off the tower, with the latter falling a long distance before landing on a solar panel (seen from a distance, and he's presumably killed). Tanks fire upon Dirk, Al and Eva who are hiding inside a 19th century ironclad that's partially buried in the desert sand (one shot misses, but another hits part of it, resulting in an explosion). A helicopter gunship then opens fire on the ship, with its armor piercing bullets ripping through the hull (but not hitting anyone inside). A 19th century cannonball is fired into a helicopter gunship. It goes through the glass and lands in the back, appearing to be a dud. It then explodes and rips apart the chopper, sending its fiery pieces to the desert floor below. It's suggested that a man poisons a villain with tainted water, but we never see the results. Reviewed February 23, 2005 / Posted April 8, 2005

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