Bovie Movie

With its treasure hunters and American Civil War backstory, Sahara prompts obvious comparison with the 2004 release National Treasure. But this also belongs to a long literary and cinematic tradition that includes Allan Quatermain, Indiana Jones and the stories of Kipling. Here the hero is author Clive Cussler’s creation Dirk Pitt (Matthew McConaughey), an adventurer and salvage expert who stumbles across evidence that a long-lost Civil War battleship may have ended up in the desert in West Africa. Along for the ride are Steve Zahn as Pitt’s sidekick, and Penélope Cruz as a World Health Organisation doctor investigating a possible plague outbreak. Throw in a local dictator, Tuareg tribesmen and the odd camel, and you have the convoluted and at times incomprehensible plot. However, the action sequences are impressive, the locations and villains suitably exotic, and the whole thing remains good fun when taken with a large pinch of salt. 

One would’ve thought that Guy Ritchie would have shied away from replicating Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels after the glut of British gangster movies that followed its success. Sadly not. Although Snatch has its merits — among them originality and the talents of Brad Pitt, Benicio Del Toro, and Jasons Statham and Flemyng — the diamond heist and East End Mob plot are just more of the same. Gangs, cheeky chappies, bare-knuckle boxing and cameos from Vinnie Jones and Mike Reid merge into a “seen it all before” mix. Ritchie can direct, but perhaps he should get someone else to write the material. 

Vigilante justice is the theme of this hard-hitting action drama from The Football Factory writer/director Nick Love. A provocative indictment of modern Britain, it explores the devastating effects of violent crime and the apparent inability of the authorities to deal with it. Sean Bean plays a former paratrooper who takes the law into his own hands after returning disillusioned from Iraq. Joining him on his social clean-up mission is a ragtag group of crime victims, including Lennie James’s grief-stricken London barrister, disfigured Cambridge student Rupert Friend and an uncharacteristically mild-mannered Danny Dyer. Anybody expecting a laddish Death Wish will be disappointed: Love has left behind the cheeky chappie approach of his earlier work, delivering a raw and sobering slice of urban verité. Though his arguments are underdeveloped and frequently naive, his vision is heartfelt and powerful, with strong performances adding to the film’s overall intensity. 

This big-budget screen version of Irwin Allen’s cult 1960s TV series is a charmless if flashy affair under the direction of Stephen Hopkins. The Robinson family’s Earth migration experiment is sabotaged by evil Doctor Smith (Gary Oldman) and they are forced to land on a mysterious planet inhabited by mutated monster spiders. A conscious attempt to be all things to all audiences falls flat — cute stuff including a lovable space monkey will annoy adults, while the “family values” sermons will bore kids rigid. The special effects, nostalgic look, varying tone and acting (with Matt LeBlanc an honourable exception) never gel into an enjoyable whole in what is basically a cynical marketing exercise.