Hey folks, Harry here... I'll have my review for this up later tonight, but in the meanwhile - apparently Pyul was somewhere in the 1200 seat Paramount Theater for Matthew McConaughey's special screening. Personally, I think I liked it a bit more than Pyul did, but then I've enjoyed Clive Clusser's novels and their pulpy brethern for years. But I'll get more into that in my review, for now, here's Pyul...
“There’s no way that shoulda worked.” It’s the line you’ve mostly likely heard in the trailer that most characterizes the new Matthew McConaughey actioner Sahara. In fact, it should be the fucking Tagline. Sahara – There’s no way that shoulda worked. You see, the first time I saw the trailer for Sahara, my eyes grew wide with disbelief, may jaw dropped to the floor and memories of Ishtar flooded into my head. Wow, I thought, an action film set in the desert, invoking pulp style adventure, starring two men best known for playing grinning idiot potheads. And it’s directed by a first time director. Oh yeah, this is gonna suck. And yet with the cards stacked against them and the obvious comparison to the Indiana Jones films (Genuflect when you say that, by the way), director Breck Eisner pulls off the seemingly impossible – he’s made a great modern pulp action adventure that proves to be one hell of a fun night at the movies.
You see, there’s something almost intangibly great about the Indiana Jones films – something that although it’s been copied time and time again, no one’s ever really gotten right. There’s something about Indiana Jones that no matter how implausible the circumstance, no matter how unbelievable the escape, no matter how retardedly simple the solution to his problems are – we still believe. We want to believe. We have to believe. And it’s a hard thing to get right. But what is it? What makes something like Raiders work for everyone, but not something like say either of the modern versions of King Solomon’s Mines or even more modern pulps like xXx? What is it? It’s Harrison Fords wry as hell fucking smile, his “Oh shit, I’m screwed” look of panic and his “No way did that just fucking happen” look of surprise at his own luck. That’s the magic. That’s what makes us believe.
Too many of our modern action heroes suffer from the same folly as those from the worst of the old school serials. They all have this expression that says “Of course that worked, don’t be ridiculous. I’m un-fucking-stoppable.” And we don’t buy it. The logic flaws become glaringly obvious. We as an audience say “There’s no way that shoulda worked” and we let out an exasperated sigh or give a roll of our eyes at the screen and buy less and less into the movie. And often times, even if we liked it, we feel we have to qualify our enjoyment. We have to apologize from the flaws in the film. You see, there’s only one man in the movie universe who can break the laws of physics with a wink and we’ll buy it – and that man in British and drinks weak martinis that we all think he sounds cool ordering. We, as an audience won’t let anyone else get away with that shit.
But Indiana Jones – even he doesn’t believe what he’s seeing in his own universe, so it assuages our disbelief. We remind ourselves that sometimes weird shit happens, and the reason this is a story worth telling is because it’s one in which weird shit happens to a seemingly ordinary guy. And that’s the other great thing about Indiana Jones. He’s not superman. He’s an archeology professor that moonlights as a pulp adventurer in the name of protecting the world’s sacred relics of history. He’s not some extreme sports badass or deep cover CIA operative. He’s the everyman. And the formula works. Spielberg crafted it perfectly.
And in Sahara, Breck Eisner, an obvious lover of Spielberg’s classics, manages to perfectly adapt that formula – and simultaneously add something to it. Sahara is a buddy action comedy, with all the trappings of pulp adventure – the brilliant damsel on her own mission, mysterious Arabian mooks that come out of the woodwork, heroes beat over the back of the head, gunplay, fistfights, oppressed people and bizarre twists of fate. And ancient treasure, one must never forget the lost ancient treasure. It’s a wonderful cross of the classic pulp actioner with the modern day techno thriller, teeming with great, original action sequences and perfect comedic timing.
Sahara opens with a wonderful, single tracking shot around an office that tells us absolutely everything we need to know about heroes Dirk Pitt (McConaughey) and his faithful sidekick Al (Steve Zahn) as well as the perfectly cast supporting character know affectionately as ‘The Admiral’ – played note perfect by William H. Macy. And from there the movie takes off at a breathless pace, almost never slowing down, delivering nonstop laughs and thrills. But don’t be mistaken, while Sahara certainly has its share of light heartedness, there are several dark and moody scenes that raise tension to perfect levels. And somewhere in the middle the movie finds a balance that most other films of its kind lacks. Imagine a pulpy Michael Bay movie with a slavish attention to logic and you get the idea of the type of movie Eisner has crafted here.
But what sells it is the casting of Matthew McConaughey and Steve Zahn. Putting these two together was a stroke of genius. If there were two people on the planet I think it would be a riot to kick back on a porch and knock back a few brews with, it would be McConaughey and Zahn, and Sahara provides us with two hours of that kind of enjoyment. These guys play off each other with all the style and panache of a classic comedic duo, as if these two had been working together for years, getting their routine down pat. Each of them possesses a natural, down home charisma that just meshes with the other to the point that you never doubt for a minute why these guys are best friends. You just get the feeling that they’ve been through a world of shit together and come out the other end smiling. It feels like it is hardly the first or the last adventure these two are going on together and it leaves you wanting to see another.
McConaughey’s Dirk Pitt is the balls of the duo – the strong jawed ass kicker unafraid to jump into anything, even when armed with the knowledge that he won’t be able to get back out - while Zahn’s Al is the persistent comic relief and perfect sidekick, always ready to get Dirk’s back when he needs it, but always cautious with a “Woah, what the fuck are you getting me into this time” attitude that reminds us that Dirk isn’t entirely stable. Both feel extremely accustomed to danger, but they’re always amazed at their ability to get out of it. And together they make you love every popcorn chomping minute of it. This is the film that cements McConaughey’s action star status while simultaneously putting Zahn up on the boards. And while McConaughey certainly owns the film, everyone’s gonna walk out quoting Zahn.
Powered by an adventurous score (complete with a subtle James Bond Horn – you know the one I’m talking about) and a bevy of fun 70’s rock tunes (from the opening use of Dr. John’s Right Place Wrong Time to some appropriate Steppenwolf) this movie just hooks in the audience and delivers perfect Friday night fare – a “Movie for guys who like Movies” movie. Rounding out the film is a great supporting cast, with damsel Penelope Cruz, the always entertaining William H. Macy, perfect villain and Frenchy Lambert Wilson (the fucking Merovingian for chrissakes!), great comedic third-man Rainn Wilson (‘The (US) Office’ and ‘Six Feet Under’) and a small but fantastic supporting role by asskicker extraordinaire Delroy Lindo.
This movie just works, despite the fact that it shouldn’t. It seems implausible, almost impossible, to put these elements together and get them to work in such entertaining harmony – but Breck Eisner pulls it off with flair. This is his Bad Boys. This is the movie that kick starts and action directing career. This is the film that kicks off a successful franchise. This is a film that 13 year old boys are going to fall in love with and their dads are gonna enjoy the hell out of right along with them. And yes, there’s enough shirtless McConaughey to keep the ladies glued to their seats as well. Maybe it’s McConaughey’s wry smile. Maybe its his “Oh shit, I’m screwed” look of panic. I’m pretty sure it’s the fact that he openly says “That never should have worked.” Because it shouldn’t, but it does, and we buy it. Every last moment of it.
I can’t express how much fun this movie was. It’s one of those rare, perfect, matinee popcorn films that never stops entertaining you, not for one second. Don’t let the lousy trailers or the mediocre TV spot that’s trying to convince you its ‘National Treasure’ scare you away. This movie is solid and is gonna catch a lot of people off guard.
Pyul MacTackle
