WHILE it has pretensions to be a cross between Indiana Jones and the recent Mummy films, Sahara is a slice of silly fun.

It's when it tries to add James Bond to the mix that the belief we were prepared to suspend drops to the floor with a loud crash.

Dirk Pitt (McConaughey) is an undersea explorer hired to find treasures beneath the deep. But there is one treasure that over the years he has become obsessed about an American Civil War ironclad ship, carrying rare gold coins, that has somehow crossed the Atlantic and, legend has it, is now deep in the Sahara Desert.

It is while operating off the Nigerian coast that Dirk comes across a clue that could point him in the right direction and so with long-time buddy Al (Zahn) at his side, he sets off for the African interior.

Going along for the ride is Eva Rojas (Cruz), a doctor working with the World Health Organisation who is investigating the cause of a plague that is killing thousands of people in Mali.

Add to that a civil war taking place between evil dictator General Kazim (Lennie James) and the native Tuareg population, plus a mysterious and futuristic solar energy plant in the middle of the desert, run by a shady French businessman, and it soon becomes clear this will be no ordinary adventure for Dirk and Al.

For much of its two hours plus running time and once we get over McConaughey's character's ridiculous name Sahara, based on a book by Clive Cussler, is enjoyable, escapist entertainment.

There is plenty of action punch-ups and chases on rivers, through the sand and in the sky; the stunt guys have earned their crust on this movie and an intriguing mystery at the heart of the story.

But the film does stand accused of over-egging the pudding. There is too much going on to grasp exactly what all the main protagonists want, and it all becomes rather confusing. And the climax at that power plant (the James Bond bit) is laughable rather than exciting.

This is also an over-the-top macho movie, in an old fashioned sense. Dirk Pitt, for all his cocky charm, is a hero from another age.

And while Cruz's doctor is initially feisty and interesting, she ends up being little more than eye candy, haring around the desert in a tight vest and screaming a lot.

5/10

By Stephen Webb

SAHARA

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Penelope Cruz, Steve Zahn

Director: Breck Eisner

Certificate 12A, 124 mins

Showing at: UGC, Cineworld