Sahara

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Sahara

PG-13

2005

2h 4m

Adventure

Action

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

37%

Tomatometer

175 Reviews

54%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Seasoned adventurer Dirk Pitt (Matthew McConaughey) sets out for the African desert with his sarcastic companion (Steve Zahn) in search of a ship rumored to have vanished long ago, the main draw being the treasure supposedly hidden within the lost vessel. When the daring duo come across a beautiful scientist (Penélope Cruz) who is juggling an escape from a warlord and a mission to stop the spread of a powerful plague, their desert expedition begins to heat up.

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Critics Consensus

A mindless adventure flick with a preposterous plot.

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Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

Apr 23, 2005

2/4

Pity, because McConaughey is born to play Pitt. Whether his shirt is on or off (personally I prefer the later) the actor cuts a dashing figure.

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Marc Savlov

Austin Chronicle

Apr 23, 2005

2/5

Just don't go expecting complex moral and ethical quandaries and you'll likely never think of Ishtar even once.

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Rex Reed

Observer

Apr 14, 2005

Despite the vast beauty of location settings in Morocco and Spain, the vast lack of chemistry between the two stars is appalling.

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Sean Collier

Box Office Prophets

Oct 20, 2021

5/10

It's not a terrible film. It's not particularly good, either, but it's certainly no disaster.

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Leigh Paatsch

Herald Sun (Australia)

Jun 18, 2020

2/5

A shame this slick vehicle often stalls in a traffic jam of action-adventure cliches and unnecessary mucking about.

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Ellie Lucas

The Dispatch (Lexington, NC)

Jun 5, 2019

2.5/4

A breezy summer action thriller that knows just what it is and has a ball being just that.

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Landon J

@Minxsykitty Aug 19, 2026

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm like the a cross between a chicken wing and The Mummy maybe. I think I watched this as a kid in 2005, my impression was the same then, kinda lame actually lol. Really nothing special here. Just your standard implausible desert action adventure.

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P N.

@pjamesnorris Jun 13, 2026

My wife and I absolutely LOVE this movie—we’ve watched from beginning to end several times and when we want to fun but don’t have time the entire thing, we’ll just throw the disc in and jump to a scene at random and enjoy it for a few scenes.

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Lou R

@LouRavi May 3, 2026

A fun adventure/action movie. Most of the hate seems to be from people expecting it to be realistic. No idea why they expected it to be in the first place, it's about a civil war ironclad making it's way to Africa; realism was out the door from the get go.

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Bruce M

@BruceMc Apr 12, 2026

A big, stupid, noisy popcorn movie, starring attractive people doing nonsensical things. A fun watch, though, especially if you don't care too much about realism. Think "Congo" but without the talking gorilla: best seller, big budget, second-rate script, poor direction. For several years, "Sahara" had the distinction of being one of the biggest box office failures ever. More realistic than "Melania," though.

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Jason S.

@invinoveritas Feb 17, 2026

Is it a masterpiece? No, but it's fun.

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Darryl W.

@BlackFedoraTheatre Jan 20, 2026

This is what adventure movies are supposed to be. Good guys, bad guys, buddies getting in and out of trouble, high jinx and humor, fighting and fleeing. In the vein of National Treasure or one of the lesser Indiana Jones films.

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Breck Eisner

Director

Matthew McConaughey

Dirk Pitt

Steve Zahn

Al Giordino

Penélope Cruz

Eva Rojas

Lambert Wilson

Yves Massarde

Glynn Turman

Dr. Frank Hopper

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Sahara: Trailer 1

2:23

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Synopsis

Seasoned adventurer Dirk Pitt (Matthew McConaughey) sets out for the African desert with his sarcastic companion (Steve Zahn) in search of a ship rumored to have vanished long ago, the main draw being the treasure supposedly hidden within the lost vessel. When the daring duo come across a beautiful scientist (Penélope Cruz) who is juggling an escape from a warlord and a mission to stop the spread of a powerful plague, their desert expedition begins to heat up.

Director: Breck Eisner
Producer: Howard Baldwin, Stephanie Austin, Karen Elise Baldwin, Mace Neufeld
Screenwriter: Joshua Oppenheimer, Thomas Dean Donnelly, Douglas S. Cook, David Weisberg, Josh Friedman, David S. Ward, James V. Hart
Distributor: Summit Entertainment, Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Paramount Pictures, Crusader Entertainment LLC
Rating: PG-13 (Action/Violence)
Genre: Adventure, Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 8, 2005, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 29, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $68.6M
Runtime: 2h 4m
Sound Mix: Dolby SRD, DTS, Surround
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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