Sahara

Sahara, the 2005 film loosely based on the novel under the same title by author Clive Cussler, stars Matthew McConhaughey as Dirk Pitt, an adventuring deep sea expert working for the National Underwater Marine Agency on a dive job in West Africa. His expedition, linked with Doctor Eva Rojas’, a National Health Organization doctor played by Penelope Cruz, connects a mysterious illness, a sunken Confederate Army battleship, and formidable underwater bacteria. Pitt, alongside his NUMA colleagues, travels the Niger River in search of the source of an enigmatic Confederate coin and finds himself on an adventure unlike any other. He discovers, amidst the disease-ridden desert, a series of perils and criminals. Packed with action and a touch of romance, Sahara is comedy filled adventure. Also starring Lennie James, Steve Zahn, Lambert Wilson, William Macy, and Rainn Wilson, amongst many others, Sahara’s cast is as expansive as the plot. Aside from the daredevil heroes previously mentioned, Sahara includes sinister villains—cold and calculating French businessmen and violent African war-lords looking to get rich, just for starters.