parent movie review sahara

Find Family Movies, Movie Ratings and Movie Reviews

Sahara Parent Guide

Based on an adventure story by author Clive Cussler, the heroic duo Dirk Pitt (Matthew McConoughey) and his life-long pal Al Giordina (Steve Zahn) set out to find a lost boat and sunken treasure--and end up in the Sahara saving the world.

Release date April 7, 2005

Why is Sahara rated PG-13? The MPAA rated Sahara PG-13 for action violence.

Get Content Details

The guide to our grades, parent movie review by kerry bennett.

History is hot in Hollywood. In the cyclical nature of movie making, past events, both ancient and recent, are showing up as the basis for several scripts. In this case, adventure author Clive Cussler’s heroic duo Dirk Pitt (Matthew McConoughey) and his life-long pal Al Giordina (Steve Zahn) are about to save the world while searching for hidden treasure.

Dirk and Al have day jobs working as salvagers for the National Underwater and Marine Agency. Under contract from governments or private industrialists, the company retrieves sunken treasure. But after hours, the two adventurers have their own personal quest to uncover the remains of a mysterious Civil War battleship that vanished at the end of the American conflict. Encased in iron, the ship reportedly crossed the Atlantic Ocean and became a thing of legend.

Before they cast off, however, two doctors approach them from the World Health Organization. Eva Rojas (Penelope Cruz) and her coworker are tracking a rapidly spreading illness that appears to be originating in Mali. While they can’t get official sanction to travel to the African region, the physicians know time is of the essence and are willing to trek to the site on their own. Tossing their equipment into the boat, they hitch a ride with the men to the country’s nearest dock.

But Mali’s dictatorial leader isn’t willing to let treasure hunters or aid workers into his war torn land. Rallying his army, General Kazim (Lennie James) proves to be a formidable obstacle to the foreigners.

Still, the onslaught of military firepower, automatic weaponry and the gruesome effects of disease seem to have little effect on the two former Navy officers who utter the odd profanity when under pressure. Even when members of a convoy are ambushed and killed, Dirk and Al deal with the intensity of the moment and then move on with a kind of “aw shucks” attitude and a “can do” spirit that keeps them thinking on their feet. Relying on an implausible amount of savvy, they mingle with the local natives and outmaneuver their pursuers while finagling their way out of one unbelievable predicament after another.

The larger-than-life action heroes never take themselves too seriously and neither does the plot. Although the storyline introduces some grave themes of suspected genocide and plague-like epidemics, it chooses to focus more on the friendship of the two buddies and their swashbuckling antics in the Sahara .

About author

Kerry Bennett

Sahara parents' guide.

What are the laws concerning buried artifacts? Who owns them once they are uncovered? Do treasure hunters play an important role in finding and preserving antiquities from the past or are they simply destroying historical sites?

Dirk Pitt has a passion for the ironclad Texas. What is your special interest? Would you be willing to go to the lengths Dirk does to pursue it?

What responsibilities do international agencies like the World Health Organization have in countries around the globe? What kind of support can they give the local citizens? Should aid workers be sent in during times of volatile warfare?

To find the facts about Mali, one of the poorest countries in the world, check the CIA World Factbook .

Author Clive Cussler is an expert on marine and maritime history and collects antique automobiles—two elements within this movie. Read more about him on this page .

The most recent home video release of Sahara movie is August 29, 2005. Here are some details…

This DVD release lets you dig deep into the dusty background of Sahara , by listening to the commentary of Director Breck Eisner and Actor/Executive Producer Matthew McConaughey. You’ll also discover four deleted scenes, as well as be able to explore the featurettes— Across The Sands of Sahara , Visualizing Sahara , and the Cast and Crew Wrap Film . The widescreen version (enhanced for 16:9 TVs) brings the sights and sounds of the desert to life, with audio tracks available in English (Dolby Digital 5.1 or Dolby Digital 2.0) and French (Dolby Digital 2.0). Subtitles are offered in English and Spanish.

Related home video titles:

Following clues from America’s Founding Fathers, Benjamin Gates is on the hunt for hidden fortune in National Treasure . Heading for the Middle East, cowboy Frank T. Hopkins plans to pit his mustang Hidalgo against a herd of Arabian horses in a 3000-mile race across the desert.

"One of the 50 Coolest Websites...they simply tell it like it is" - TIME

Sahara | 2005 | PG-13 | - 2.5.5

SEX/NUDITY 2 - A man and a woman lie on a beach in swimsuits and they kiss. (we can see the man's bare chest, the woman's cleavage, and bare abdomen and legs). A man is shown bare-chested while swimming, a woman wears low-cut tops and dresses that reveal cleavage, bare shoulders and back, and a man's pants hang low in the back revealing buttock cleavage. A man and a woman flirt in a few scenes.

VIOLENCE/GORE 5 - A man attacks a woman, she kicks him and runs, two other men attack her, knock her down and hold her around the throat; she struggles and gasps, another man holds a knife over her, and he is shot through the hand by a man with a spear gun (we see the bloody hand and the spear going through his hand), who proceeds to repeatedly punch and kick all three men. ►  A man lies dead, and another man is shot in the leg and then three times in the head and chest (we see him lying motionless with blood stains on his shirt). We see a dead man covered with bloody sores. A man and a woman walk through a village and find children and other people dead from a disease (we see a child's hand with bloody sores and we see bloody hand prints on the wall). We see many people lying on the ground moaning and suffering from a disease and we also see bloody sores on their skin. ►  Battle scenes show gunfire, bombs exploding, men being tossed through the air, fires, and men scrambling for cover. A ship fires many cannons at men on the banks of a river and the men fire back. In one scene an armed faction surrounds another armed faction. Several men are shot, and three people are surrounded by heavily armed people and taken prisoner (we see them with their hands tied behind them). ►  While on a boat, a man approaches another man with a machete, swings it, and then they fight with punches and kicks, one is pushed off the back of the boat, the other is shot at, and men on the riverbank shoot at them. A man jumps from one boat to another, and he is shot at repeatedly. ►  Two men fight several armed men: one man is punched repeatedly, another has his arm broken (we hear crunching), one is pinned underneath a car when the tires are shot out, and one man is held in the air by the throat (he gasps and struggles). A man is hit in the head with a gun and is knocked out, and a man punches a man in the face. Three men hold guns on two guards, and a woman is handcuffed and forced into a helicopter. ►  A man standing outside a helicopter readying for takeoff on a high platform holds a gun on two men inside the helicopter, and he is hit from behind by another man: they fight with punches and kicks, the helicopter spins knocking one man over the side of the platform, he hangs from the side, and the other man steps on his finger and slashes at his hands with a knife and the man falls, but climbs back up; the two men fight with many punches and kicks and one man falls to his death. Also, a woman in the helicopter hits a man, she jumps out, and jumps onto the back of a man who in turn hits her and throws her to the ground where she lies unconscious. ►  Three men in a boat approach men in another boat and threaten them, asking for information: one boat pulls away fast and pulls a rope that causes the other boat to turn over. A boat runs aground, a truck on a riverbank drives into the water, and one boat explodes causing two other boats to blow up. A cannon is fired on a helicopter, which explodes and crashes to the ground in flames. ►  A woman is lowered into a well by a rope, she slips, gets her grip and she is lowered to the bottom; she hears gunfire from the surface, and a dead man slumps over the wall of the well (we see blood on the man's face). ►  Trucks are set on fire. Flames shoot out of a tunnel and a man is forced out ahead of the flames; he hangs onto equipment until the flames stop. Men in a helicopter fire on people driving a car, and the car crashes through a wall. ►  Two men handcuffed to a truck's bed liner fall off the back of the truck and skid along the road being sprayed by sand as they go; they come to a stop, then walk a great distance through a desert, slide down a large sand hill and crash onto the ground covered by the bed liner. Three people jump from their camels' backs onto a moving train, and a woman jumps, and she is caught by a man who swings her by the arm until she catches onto the side of the train. ►  A woman falls through a rotted floor and finds many skeletons. A sick man panics when a doctor shines a light in his eyes and we see that his eyes are discolored and bloodshot. ►  People talk about a poisoned water supply and the threat it poses for the world population, doctors talk about the spread of an epidemic, and people talk about a deadly disease spreading quickly. People talk about a "ship of death." ►  We see many people living in squalor in impoverished African countries, we see chickens in a cage lying dead, and several people have decorative scarring on their faces.

LANGUAGE 5 - 1 F-word, 3 scatological terms, 4 anatomical terms (1 mild), 11 mild obscenities, 5 religious exclamations.

SUBSTANCE USE - People are shown smoking cigarettes, cigars and drinking alcohol.

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Treasure hunters, obsession, Civil War, the World Health Organization, plague, toxic waste disposal, poverty, solar power, warlords, corruption, political chaos, curses, Islam.

MESSAGE - Don't give up on finding your treasure.

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated , Special , Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.

REVIEWS See ratings & reviews at Critics.com

WEB LINKS Official Site    IMDb

FILTER by RATINGS Did you know you can now filter searches by any combination of ratings? Just go to our search page or use the search bar, with or without a keyword, from the top navigation menu. Move sliders from 0-10 in any combination, check and uncheck MPAA ratings and use keywords to further filter results -- please let us know what you think.

THE ASSIGNED NUMBERS Unlike the MPAA we do not assign one inscrutable rating based on age but 3 objective ratings for SEX/NUDITY , VIOLENCE/GORE & LANGUAGE on a scale of 0 to 10, from lowest to highest depending on quantity & context | more |

FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

• Follow Follow

how to support us

PLEASE DONATE

We are a totally independent website with no connections to political, religious or other groups & we neither solicit nor choose advertisers. You can help us keep our independence with a donation.

NO MORE ADS!

Become a member of our premium site for just $1/month & access advance reviews, without any ads, not a single one, ever. And you will be helping support our website & our efforts.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

We welcome suggestions & criticisms -- and we accept compliments too. While we read all emails & try to reply we don't always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address.

Become a member of our premium site for just $2/month & access advance reviews, without any ads, not a single one, ever. And you will be helping support our website & our efforts.

We welcome suggestions & criticisms -- and we will accept compliments too. While we read all emails & try to reply we do not always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Know when new reviews are published We will never sell or share your email address with anybody and you can unsubscribe at any time

You're all set! Please check your email for confirmation.

Pin it on pinterest.

• New Reviews
• ★ JOIN TODAY! ★

Home » Movie Review: Sahara

Movie Review: Sahara

Children’s media—in a way that films and T.V. for adults can’t, by design, parallel—rests so strongly on the shoulders of behemoths. Making a revered film is good, but siphoning its charms into successful franchises, films and T.V. shows and related media that sell their own tickets merely by name recognition, is the measure of true success for kids’ entertainment. From Mickey Mouse to Toy Story to John Green, it is not singular success that vaunts such names into adolescent zeitgeist but the proven ability to use one hit to motivate the next.

These success stories have laid road maps for the films to follow, the resultant precedent giving way to the likes of Sahara , a new film cast with unfamiliar characters and attached to relatively obscure names (like director Pierre Coré), films that see the successes laid before them and race toward the same status.

Everything about Sahara is fast, but not excitingly so. Its quickness is more entwined with rushing, a sensation of pushing the pedal to the floor in order to make it to the finish line and collect the prize money as fast as humanly possible.

The plot neatly follows the expected pivots and crises. Ajar and Eva, a purple and green snake, respectively, hail from opposite sides of a cultural divide—he from the desert and she from the oasis. Both long to experience life beyond their borders, meet improbably, and begin to fall in love, despite their cultural differences. Eva is abruptly kidnapped into a band of cultish snake ballerinas (held captive by a nefarious snake charmer) and thus begins Ajar’s trek across the desert to rescue her. Along the way, his journey hits all of its expected roadblocks, like a near-imprisonment by evil bugs wishing to eat Ajar and his friends, an inevitable separation from each other, and a fast-talking lizard who coyly misleads them.

Truthfully, formula is not often as bad as some might make it out to be. The overwhelming majority of films you will watch in your life—even the best ones—will follow some preordained plot structure. The bigger problem in Sahara is that the film is mostly unconcerned with establishing a world and rather plays to the assumption that its mere happening on the screen before them will be a good enough reason for a young viewer to watch. Ajar and Eva hail from undefined worlds, him from a vague portrait of sunbaked poverty and her from a woefully basic, stereotypical depiction of an affluent family. They share barely a few minutes onscreen before the latter is whisked away, the former sets out on his journey, and the film asks us to care enough to sit still for the next eighty minutes. It is reasonably easy to spot the characters’ goals and identify their obstacles, but, because of the minimum of establishing action, it is pretty much impossible to empathize with them.

Consequently, the film is a confounding fistful of fast ideas. It attempts to be a coming of age story, romantic quest, and odd-couple adventure all at once; it also manages to stuff in some ham-handed satire of xenophobia and suburbia. The latter of these are not at all misplaced in a film targeted toward children; Zootopia and Inside Out are among only the most recent of mainstream children’s films that skillfully tackle big issues. But with a story rolled into a package so lazily and hastily, it’s hard, such as with anything else in Sahara , to care about the issues. Their greater context seems to be little more than buzzword cloying.

It’s quite the shame, then, that Sahara is so pretty. The animation is the film’s one great virtue, and many sequences are genuinely enthralling. There is a distinct and powerful visual vocabulary: blindingly yellow and beige sand provides a gorgeous canvas on which the green-purple dynamic of the snakes really pops. There is also an energized playfulness in some visual sequences, like the opening moments of a lung-ruining dust-storm and an escape, by Eva, from the snake charmer’s basket and through the stomping hooves of his camels.

Advertisement

Yet, this spontaneity can also prove to be a pitfall for the film, as, without a strong story to stand upon, sometimes the visual style gets away from itself. There is a sequence around the midpoint, in which Eva is charmed by the snake flute for the first time and begins a hypervisual fantasy that reminds one of the way other films might portray drug trips. Nothing inherent is bad here, but as the viewer absorbs it, it’s nearly impossible to do anything but think, “okay, but so what?”

It’s difficult to care about a film that doesn’t offer the viewer context, at least when it comes to a film so traditionally structured as Sahara . This is not an avant garde subversion of Hollywood plotting. It is a comedy that isn’t funny and an adventure that has no stakes, rolled into a very, very pretty package. It is a film so preoccupied with hitting all the kids’ movie checkpoints that, by the time its race toward success is complete, one is less happy to witness victory than they are that the race is over and, at last, they can go do something else.

D.R. Baker is a writer of fiction, music, essays, and plays. His work has appeared or is forthcoming at Bright Wall/Dark Room, Independent Music News, TheSportster, Paragraph Planet, The Open House: Telephone, Fredericksburg Literary & Art Review, and on stages in New York, New Jersey, and Ohio. Dan also creates instrumental music under the name After Lake Starfish. He lives in New York City.

Movie Review: Get Me Roger Stone

Movie review: snatched.

8 TV-inspired Halloween costumes to wear this spooky season

‘Stargirl’ 3×08 review: “Frenemies – Chapter Eight: Infinity Inc. Part Two” explores The Shade’s regrets in the Shadowlands

“The Car” review: The most refined album Arctic Monkeys have ever released.

Album Review: Maajo – ‘Water of Life’

‘Pantheon’ series premiere review: The future is bright in the animated science fiction drama

Notice: All forms on this website are temporarily down for maintenance. You will not be able to complete a form to request information or a resource. We apologize for any inconvenience and will reactivate the forms as soon as possible.

• DVD & Streaming
• Action/Adventure , Drama

Content Caution

In Theaters

• Matthew McConaughey as Dirk Pitt; Steve Zahn as Al Giordino; Penélope Cruz as Eva Rojas; William H. Macy as Admiral James Sandecker; Delroy Lindo as CIA Agent Carl; Lambert Wilson as Massarde

Home Release Date

• Breck Eisner

Distributor

• Paramount Pictures

Movie Review

Straight from the pages of Clive Cussler’s best-selling adventure novels comes Dirk Pitt, a swashbuckling treasure hunter who’s making the leap to the big screen for the second time in his 30 years of literary fame. (His first outing was in 1980’s Raise the Titanic .) Dirk is accompanied here, as he is on the page, by smart-mouthed sidekick Al Giordino. As members of the National Underwater and Marine Agency, the duo travel the globe recovering sunken artifacts.

This time their adventures begin off the coast of Nigeria, where Dirk, Al and NUMA Admiral Sandecker have just discovered another submerged relic. But when Dirk is shown a gold coin linked to a mysterious U.S. Civil War battleship that’s believed to have sunk in the Niger River, of all places, he and Al split from the team and embark on their own mission. Legend has it that the vessel holds a cargo worth millions, but locals refer to it as the “Ship of Death” for the curse it supposedly brought to the area. And with a new plague spreading across the country of Mali it seems the curse is back in full force.

As Dirk and Al search for the ship, they meet up with Eva Rojas, a World Health Organization doctor trying to find the epidemic’s source. And it’s a good thing they do, because when she discovers that the plague is tied to an evil deal a Mali warlord has made with an unscrupulous Western businessman, things get more than just a little dangerous.

Positive Elements

All three heroes risk their lives on numerous occasions to save each other. Dirk and Al race to Eva’s aid, giving up their quest for treasure when they discover that she may be in trouble. When a close friend dies, Dirk comforts Eva and assures her that they’ll survive. The trio offer to help the leader of a Mali rebel group fight against General Kazim, the bloodthirsty, power-hungry warlord who currently rules the war-torn country. He returns the favor by putting his own neck on the line to help the foreigners. Back at the ranch, so to speak, Sandecker won’t take no as an answer as he seeks the help of the CIA to rescue Dirk and Al.

Spiritual Elements

It is said that the 19th century battleship “bore 300 souls to heaven,” and it is referred to as a “damnation from Allah.” Local are shown bowing and praying (to Allah, evidently) after burying several plague victims. A story retold includes a man swearing on a stack of Bibles.

Sexual Content

Despite being in the middle of a desert, Eva wears low-cut tank tops for much of the movie. As the story wraps, she’s shown on the beach in a bikini. Pinned up onboard the NUMA ship are pictures of men’s heads attached to the bodies of bikini-clad women. Dirk and Eva kiss.

Violent Content

As much a mini war movie as it is an action flick, Sahara features lots of fistfights, shootouts, massive explosions and near-death experiences. Automatic weapons are fired in virtually every other scene, with Dirk and Al often serving as targets for a Mali militia. On one occasion, General Kazim shoots a man at point-blank range. Though we don’t see the impact, it’s nevertheless intense, as are the sounds of soldiers killing a group of locals. Several other scenes show men repeatedly shot from up close. Blood and gore is not shown during those killings; there is blood, however, when Dirk plunges a harpoon through an attacker’s hand.

Dirk gets in numerous fistfights with assailants, one of which ends with a man falling to his death. He also whacks a man in the face with a bucket. Several times Al hits Mali soldiers over the head with the barrel of his gun. Eva sometimes gets in on the action, often repaying assailants for their rough treatment with kicks to the groin. In one sequence a man holds a gun to Eva’s head. A friend of the adventurers fires a flare gun into a moving jeep full of soldiers (which drives over a cliff). Several vehicles either explode or are set ablaze. A ship is bombarded with machine gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades. A helicopter and boat both blow up in dramatic fashion.

Crude or Profane Language

Five misuses of God’s name and one of Christ’s. Better than a dozen other mild profanities and crudities are spoken, including “h—,” “p—” and “d–n.” Several foul phrases are left unfinished.

Drug and Alcohol Content

Dirk and Al like to drink. A lot. Their ongoing banter during tense situations includes betting on bottles and cases of tequila. Dirk and Eva down a few glasses of liquor during dinner. Budweiser bottles make an appearance on a boat, and Dirk shows up with a bottle of beer in hand early in the morning. Several people drink alcohol at a NUMA reception. Admiral Sandecker often appears smoking a cigar.

Other Negative Elements

Dirk, Al, Eva and Sandecker all seem to be in on a plan to steal a fortune’s worth of gold coins from the U.S. government by never revealing that they exist. General Kazim is willing to sacrifice his countrymen’s lives to assure his power. It’s insinuated that a CIA agent assassinates Kazim’s business partner. The gory results of the plague are shown up-close when Eva examines victims’ bodies and checks their ghoulish-looking eyes. While working on a ship, Al bends over and reveals the top of his backside.

Improbable. That’s a word that isn’t likely to stray far from moviegoers’ minds as they watch old-school explorer Dirk Pitt and his wisecracking buddy escape close call after close call after close call after close call. Whether it’s dodging bullets, defusing a bomb or surviving a deadly fall, these macho men excel at making ridiculous feats look easy and, well, ridiculous.

Not that that’s anything new. James Bond and Indiana Jones do exactly the same thing. (And to Clive Cussler’s credit, Dirk was created years before Indy came around.) To get a fix on Dirk, think of him as being somewhere in between Bond and Jones. He’s a little bit earthy, a little bit suave and 100 percent testosterone. And, of course, he gets the girl in the end. Though not in the same way Mr. Bond typically does.

“I don’t have any sex in my books,” Cussler has said. “And no four-letter words, because when I started writing my kids were quite young. I thought, ‘Someday they’re going to read these books.’ … I didn’t feel it was necessary. The sex slows the action down. They never learned that in the movies.”

They have now, at least for Sahara, which maintains a rapid pace interrupted with nary a steamy scene. It does, however, contain some kid-unfriendly language, and its over-stimulating pacing includes tons of explosions, gunfire and hand-to-hand combat, along with more than a couple of killings. That creates its own drag.

Interestingly, on-screen and on-the-page differences reportedly led Cussler to disavow the project and sue Paramount for what he claims was a breach of contract over rights to approve the final script. Maybe his final touches would’ve smoothed things out a bit. Or maybe they would’ve at least patched up the enormous holes in the story.

Marcus Yoars

Latest reviews.

My Penguin Friend

Alien: Romulus

It Ends with Us

Weekly reviews straight to your inbox.

Get news & reviews in your inbox

• Prime Video
• Documentary
• Producers Corner
• Watch Lists
• More Than A Movie Night
• It’s Dove Approved – Family Movie Trivia Game
• Dove Ratings
• Privacy Policy

Dove Review

“Sahara” is another PG-13 rated film that shows restraint in regard to offensive content. While there are many violent scenes, they are not graphic in nature and do not show too much detail. There are scenes with bullets flying but no graphic killings or injuries are shown. Things blow up with people in them, but again, nothing is really shown other than the objects blowing up. While there is some foul language it is mild for a PG-13 film.

“Sahara” relies on some action packed scenes with good acting by McConaughey and Zahn. The storyline is somewhat far-fetched. In one part, a Civil War Ironclad ship is lost in the middle of the desert. Another scene shows leaking chemicals that are poisoning the water supply in Africa. I felt they did a good job, though, of bringing the two storylines together smoothly. “Sahara” is similar to “National Treasure” in that they both are adventure films that are free from the objectionable elements contained in many of today’s films, especially ones that have been rated PG-13. Parents, though, should be aware of the violence and language still present in “Sahara” and should look to the content description below for specifics in deciding whether this film is right for their family.

Dove Rating Details

Many gunfight scenes with people killed, but not graphic in nature; man shot at close range; some hand to hand combat scenes with punches and kicks; chase scenes with boats exploding; cut on man's head with some blood shown; helicopter explodes.

Man and woman kiss.

H-7; OMG-3; D-2; A-2.

Some drinking; some cigar smoking.

Man's butt crack shown above pants.

More Information

Film information, dove content.

Faith Film Producer DeVon Franklin Steps in Front of the Camera for ‘Jesus Revolution’

Cyrano: Love is a Verb

Redeeming Love: Grace Rising Up Out of the Dirt

Filmmakers Highlight the Hope and Heroism in “Gi...

"Smart, Funny and Energetic"

What You Need To Know:

(BB, C, P, E, FR, LL, VV, N, A, D, M) Strong moral worldview where hero goes to help others at great risk to himself instead of seeking the treasure, with untranslated Christian prayer over disease victims ends in a clear “Amen” and some other redemptive qualities, and light pro-American content where the two heroes are ex Navy Seals who must save the United States, Africa and the Atlantic Ocean from a plague caused by chemical waste, as well as environmentalist issues brought up and two men claim that a deadly chemical in a river could spread all across the ocean, which seems highly unlikely, but the chemical waste comes from a solar energy plant, and light false religion content includes brief positive depiction of Muslims in prayer and hero finds helpful clue in historical records in a mosque; 14 light obscenities (mostly H E double hockey sticks), one strong profanity and six light profanities (including one profanity in lyrics to Lynyrd Skynyrd song “Sweet Home Alabama”); violence includes a few images of sores on skin, bloodshot eyeballs and dead victims of plague caused by chemical waste and plenty of action violence such as cannons fire during Civil War scenes, cannons bounce off and shake Confederate ironclad ship, machine gun fire, off-screen murder, boat chase with machine gun fire and explosions, and, helicopter fires at people in wrecked ship and people in ship fire backs; no sex, but couple in swimsuits kisses on beach; upper male nudity, part of man’s rear nudity shows while he’s bending down to work on machine and woman in bikini with man in swimsuit; alcohol use; smoking; and, kidnapping, lying and government bureaucrats drag their feet in a crisis.

More Detail:

Sometimes a movie comes along that is so entertaining that you don’t mind the coincidences that pile up or the plot’s inconsistencies and discrepancies. SAHARA, based on the popular Clive Cussler book and starring Matthew McConaughey as Dirk Pitt, Cussler’s devil-may-care hero, is just such a picture. The plot is sometimes questionable and there are one too many coincidences, but the movie is the most entertaining, humorous action thriller to come along in some time. The enthusiasm of the filmmakers and actors is so utterly infectious that audiences may not want the movie to end.

The story opens with a World Health Organization doctor, Dr. Eva Rojas (played by Penelope Cruz), and her boss, Dr. Frank Hopper, investigating the potential outbreak of a devastating disease along the Niger River in West Africa below Algeria. While seeking out the source of the disease, Dr. Rojas is attacked by two men on the beach. Just in time, the hero, Dirk Pitt, an ex Navy Seal, dispatches the two men.

Dirk and his buddy, Al Giordino (played by Steve Zahn), are just finishing a project for their boss, retired Admiral Sandecker, head of a private salvage business called NUMA, short for National Underwater and Marine Agency. Eva briefly meets Dirk and Al, but Dirk quickly goes off in pursuit of a gold Civil War coin that he thinks may belong to the last Confederate ironclad ship which may have been lost off the African coast.

Dirk confirms that the coin is a Confederate coin, one of only four that were made (or so he thinks). A clue found in the historical records of the local Muslim mosque leads Dirk and Al upriver on one of the Admiral’s small but fast river boats. Dr. Rojas and Dr. Hopper hitch a ride with them, because the possible location of the ironclad is the same location where Dr. Rojas thinks the disease originated. The problem is, that area is located in Mali, which is in the midst of a civil war because an evil general has assassinated the president and taken over the country, which he now rules with an iron fist.

Dirk’s search for the Confederate ship is interrupted when the general tries to stop Dr. Rojas and Dr. Hopper from finding the source of the plague. The general is in cahoots with a slick French businessman whose fancy new solar energy plant is poisoning the Niger River with tons of chemical waste. The general’s men kill Dr. Hopper, which leaves only Dirk and Al to protect Eva and save the day. Their situation becomes really desperate when they find out that the chemical waste is spreading downriver to the Atlantic Ocean and may even spread the plague across the ocean to the United States.

SAHARA is a hugely entertaining, spirited action flick that gives new meaning to the term high energy. It is also funny, smart and exhilarating. The bad guys are menacing, the heroes are clever people with a keen sense of humor, and the action is non-stop. Matthew McConaughey and Steve Zahn make the perfect team, and Penelope Cruz has never been more appealing than she is here. First-time director Breck Eisner, who also directed Steven Spielberg’s critically acclaimed TV miniseries about aliens, TAKEN, and happens to be the son of retiring Disney chief Michael Eisner, does a great job in keeping the action moving and making the audience care what happens to Clive Cussler’s engaging characters. Eisner effectively uses music to punctuate the movie’s robust action scenes.

SAHARA has some light foul language and contains plenty of action violence, so it requires a caution for children. Its hero, however, is a compassionate man who is willing to help others, even if it means risking his own life.

SAHARA really rocks. The movie’s ad campaign proclaims, “Adventure has a new name.” For once, they aren’t lying.

Letterboxd — Your life in film

Forgotten username or password ?

• Start a new list…
• Add all films to a list…
• Add all films to watchlist

Add to your films…

Press Tab to complete, Enter to create

A moderator has locked this field.

Add to lists

Where to watch

Directed by Pierre Coré

A young cobra and his scorpion best friend go on a journey across the Sahara desert to save a new-found love.

Omar Sy Louane Emera Franck Gastambide Vincent Lacoste Ramzy Bedia Clovis Cornillac Jean Dujardin Reem Kherici Jonathan Lambert Sabrina Ouazani Mathilde Seigner Michaël Youn Roschdy Zem Elana Dunkelman Arthur Holden Andrew Shaver Matthew Stefiuk Grand Corps Malade Marie-Claude Pietragalla Richard Dumont

Director Director

Pierre Coré

Producers Producers

Eric Altmayer Nicolas Altmayer Michel Cortey Pierre Coré Claude Léger Christian Ronget

Writers Writers

Pierre Coré Nessim Debbiche Stéphane Kazandjian

Additional Directing Add. Directing

Executive producer exec. producer.

Nicolas Trout

Art Direction Art Direction

Julien Georgel

Visual Effects Visual Effects

Jacques Daigle

Composer Composer

Jérôme Rebotier

Sound Sound

Bernard Gariépy Strobl Pierre-Yves Drapeau Olivier Calvert

Mikros Image La Station d'Animation StudioCanal M6 Films Transfilm International Canal+ Mandarin Production Mikros Animation

Canada France

Primary Language

Spoken languages.

English French

Releases by Date

01 feb 2017, 10 jun 2017, 12 may 2017, releases by country.

• Theatrical L
• Theatrical U
• Digital APTA

86 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Løri ★★

What's with all the police brutality, racism, sexual harrasment, drugs, gay jokes, incest and death

Review by Jacob Cunningham ★½

It's for 6 year olds tho so who am I to judge.

Review by Goose ★★★★

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

I'm so proud of Gary for overcoming his crack addiction he's come so far best character in the whole movie

Review by Bristol ★★★

The animation on the snakes is really cute tbh

Review by Matt ★½ 2

gary and ajar had more chemistry together than any other characters in the movie Oh he also does snake cocaine so that was funny

Review by Wesam Aman ★½

Mr. Snake from The Bad Guys >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Review by Beef ★★★

Maybe I'm just getting soft in my old age but nowadays as long as an animated feature aimed at kids doesn't have any grating characters or revolting music choices then I'm pretty much cool with it. This one fit those requirements and looked pretty decent as well.

Review by Sophie ★★★★★

This movie would be NOTHING without Gary!!!!!

Review by Marty ★

Utterly hysterical in how atrocious it is. Oddly inappropriate for a kid's movie.

Review by JP Dalton #ReleaseCoyoteVsAcme ★★½

The art style and animation were alright, but the story was pretty boring.

Review by lin ★★★½

love the weed adicted snake he really brings something to the table

Review by YspobDon ★★★★★

have you ever loved something not for what it was but for what it could be? you look at a thing and see the outline of reality and the phantom of possibility, and you become so enraptured with the phantom that it knits itself, inextricably, into the whole?

that's me and this movie. i've seen it a total of 4 times, maybe more. i've advertised it ruthlessly to friends, family, and peers. i've spent probably over ten hours thinking about various aspects of it, of how i could rewrite it, of how i could nab something useful from its rotting corpse, or lord it over others like a trumpet fanfare for an unclothed emperor. i have exhausted myself, and perhaps…

Similar Films

Select your preferred backdrop

Select your preferred poster.

Sahara Movie

Dirk Pitt. Adventure has a new name.

Who's Involved:

Matthew McConaughey, Steve Zahn, Joshua Oppenheimer, Vicki Dee Rock, Lambert Wilson, Glynn Turman, Karen Baldwin, James V. Hart, Penelope Cruz, William H. Macy, Breck Eisner, Thomas Dean Donnelly, Mace Neufeld, Howard Baldwin, Gus Gustawes, John Richards, Stephanie Austin, William J. Immerman, Dayna Cussler

Release Date:

Friday, April 8, 2005

Plot: What's the story about?

Master explorer Dirk Pitt (Matthew McConaughey) takes on the adventure of his life when he embarks on a treasure hunt through some of the most dangerous regions of West Africa. Searching for what locals call "The Ship of Death", a long lost Civil War battleship which protects a secret cargo, Pitt and his wisecracking sidekick (Steve Zahn) use their wits and clever heroics to help Doctor Eva Rojas (Penelope Cruz) when they realize the ship may be linked to mysterious deaths in the very same area.

3.78 / 5 stars ( 64 users)

Poll: Will you see Sahara?

Who stars in Sahara: Cast List

Matthew McConaughey

Interstellar, The Rivals of Amziah King  

Penelope Cruz

The Bride!, Ferrari  

LaRoy, Texas, Uncle Frank  

Dayna Cussler

William H. Macy

Wild Hogs 2: Bachelor Ride, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes  

Glynn Turman

Devil You Know, Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 2  

Lambert Wilson

Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris, Ernest and Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia  

Who's making Sahara: Crew List

A look at the Sahara behind-the-scenes crew and production team. The film's director Breck Eisner last directed How it Ends and The Last Witch Hunter . The film's writer Joshua Oppenheimer last wrote Doctor Strange and Conan The Barbarian .

Breck Eisner

Screenwriters

Joshua Oppenheimer Thomas Dean Donnelly James V. Hart

Production Company

Baldwin Entertainment Group

Bristol Bay Productions

Kanzaman SA

j.k. livin Productions

Watch Sahara Trailers & Videos

No trailer available.

Production: What we know about Sahara?

Filming timeline.

• 2004 - December : The film was set to Completed  status.

Sahara Release Date: When was the film released?

Sahara was a release in 2005 on Friday, April 8, 2005 . There were 3 other movies released on the same date, including Fever Pitch , Eros and Chrystal .

Sahara DVD & Blu-ray Release Date: When was the film released?

Sahara was released on DVD & Blu-ray on Tuesday, August 30 , 2005 .

Q&A Asked about Sahara

Seen the movie? Rate It!

Advertisement

Follow the Updates

• Thu., Sep. 15, 2005
• created the movie profile

Looking for more information on Sahara?

Official movie site + social media links.

• Official Site

Across the Web

• Get Tickets + Showtimes
• Get Digital Copy
• Buy on Amazon
• More Info on IMDb

Get the latest on upcoming movies before everyone else!

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

• Upcoming Movies and TV shows
• Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
• Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

• What's the Tomatometer®?
• Login/signup

Movies in theaters

• Opening this week
• Top box office
• Coming soon to theaters
• Certified fresh movies

Movies at home

• Fandango at Home
• Prime Video
• Most popular streaming movies
• What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

• 81% Alien: Romulus Link to Alien: Romulus
• 100% Daughters Link to Daughters
• 78% Cuckoo Link to Cuckoo

New TV Tonight

• 96% Industry: Season 3
• 91% Bad Monkey: Season 1
• 100% Solar Opposites: Season 5
• 58% Emily in Paris: Season 4
• 60% Rick and Morty: The Anime: Season 1
• -- Bel-Air: Season 3
• -- SEAL Team: Season 7
• -- RuPaul's Drag Race Global All Stars: Season 1
• -- Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures: Season 2
• -- Worst Ex Ever: Season 1

Most Popular TV on RT

• 53% The Umbrella Academy: Season 4
• 77% Lady in the Lake: Season 1
• -- Troppo: Season 2
• 100% Supacell: Season 1
• 78% Star Wars: The Acolyte: Season 1
• 82% A Good Girl's Guide to Murder: Season 1
• Best TV Shows
• Most Popular TV
• TV & Streaming News

Certified fresh pick

• 91% Bad Monkey: Season 1 Link to Bad Monkey: Season 1
• All-Time Lists
• Binge Guide
• Comics on TV
• Five Favorite Films
• Video Interviews
• Weekend Box Office
• Weekly Ketchup
• What to Watch

All James Cameron Movies Ranked

Best Horror Movies of 2024 Ranked – New Scary Movies to Watch

What to Watch: In Theaters and On Streaming

Awards Tour

James Wan’s Teacup : Premiere Date, Trailer, Cast & More

2024 Emmy Awards Ballot: Complete with Tomatometer and Audience Scores

• Trending on RT
• Best New Horror Movies
• Re-Release Calendar
• Renewed and Cancelled TV
• Popular Series on Neflix

Sahara Reviews

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

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | Oct 20, 2021

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

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jun 18, 2020

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

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jun 5, 2019

Operating with a machine-tooled efficiency, Sahara seems blithely unaware of its utter predictability.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 24, 2019

To get a franchise going, you need your own style, and this movie hasn't an original thought on anything.

Full Review | Feb 3, 2018

Anyone with even the slightest awareness of global politics will cringe at dialogue like "No one cares about Africa" and the notion that good old fashioned American cunning will always triumph, no matter how dire the circumstances.

Full Review | Aug 24, 2017

For an adventure movie based on chase scenes in exotic locations "Sahara" never takes hold because director Breck Eisner and his team of screenwriters can't agree on what the story's about or what tone should resonate against it.

Full Review | Original Score: C- | Apr 18, 2009

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 7, 2008

The whole movie is a kick, actually.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Aug 18, 2007

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Jul 14, 2007

A pretty offensive comedy about Africans who range from primitive to demonic that, sorry, is just not funny.

Full Review | May 11, 2007

Vapid, lengthy, and mostly lifeless -- kind of like the desert it's named for.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Oct 2, 2006

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 1, 2006

Sahara rather resembles National Treasure, another film with a strained story line and deadening lack of visual richness.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Feb 7, 2006

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Dec 6, 2005

For "Sahara," the problem is that we have the Indiana Jones movies to compare it to, and I'm afraid there's no comparison. It's never more than a likable poseur.

Full Review | Original Score: C+ | Nov 18, 2005

It tried to be National Treasure and it failed.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Nov 11, 2005

The plotting is too complex for a generally stupid picture, but that didn't stop me from getting sucked in by director Breck Eisner's nicely paced action sequences.

Full Review | Original Score: B- | Oct 7, 2005

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Aug 27, 2005

Like the African desert that lends the film its name, this so-called adventure is coarse, dry, and overheated.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/4 | Jul 11, 2005

Get the Reddit app

A subreddit for movie reviews and discussions

Sahara (2005) While it can be silly I still think this was a really fun and entertaining adventure flick.

A much better Uncharted movie than the actual Uncharted movie.

By continuing, you agree to our User Agreement and acknowledge that you understand the Privacy Policy .

Enter the 6-digit code from your authenticator app

You’ve set up two-factor authentication for this account.

Enter a 6-digit backup code

Create your username and password.

Reddit is anonymous, so your username is what you’ll go by here. Choose wisely—because once you get a name, you can’t change it.

Reset your password

Enter your email address or username and we’ll send you a link to reset your password

Check your inbox

An email with a link to reset your password was sent to the email address associated with your account

Choose a Reddit account to continue

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, chaz's journal, great movies, contributors.

Now streaming on:

“ Jackpot! ”  is a trashy and repetitive action comedy about greed and bloodlust set in a world full of people who are proud to be awful. Directed by Paul Feig (“ Spy ”), it's set in near-future Los Angeles, which begins to seem like a statement in itself as the movie goes along. There’s a statewide lottery. For some reason, the state government has decreed that citizens are permitted to hunt and kill winners to try and take their prize money. A handful of rules govern the hunt. One is, only those who’ve purchased a ticket and lost the draw can take part. Another rule is: no guns allowed. A third is: the hunt can only go on for 24 hours. If the original winner has survived at the end of that period, they get to keep their winnings.

Other than that, anything goes. Participants can use knives, clubs, broken bottles, bats, chains, rubber hoses, spears, curtain rods, mop handles, and presumably automobiles (though I don’t recall anyone trying to run anyone down deliberately, which seems like a strange omission in retrospect). They can hunt alone or in groups, even very large groups. 

Awkwafina plays the target of the latest hunt, Katie Kim, a former actress who just returned home from many years spent visiting her dying mother in another state. Her dad died a while before. She didn’t have a good relationship with either parent. We get a bit of detail about her personal life to explain why she doesn’t know anything about the California state lottery turning into a murderous manhunt (she’s been spending time with her mom; no, really, that’s the reason) and also why she’s worthy of our sympathy (beyond the fact that, like other past lottery winners, she doesn’t deserve to be hunted like an animal; nobody does). Katie comes into her own winning ticket purely by accident and doesn’t realize she has it until her number comes up during an audition (which she doesn’t get) and everybody starts looking at her like a cartoon wolf staring at a lamb and imagining lamb chops.

An entire economy seems to have grown up around the lottery hunt, though the movie only zeros in on one part: the security experts who locate winners and offer them protection from harm in exchange for a cut of their fortune. John Cena plays one such security guard, a lovable bruiser named Noel. He used to work for a very successful lottery security company run by a snotty badass named Louie Lewis ( Simu Liu ). He saves Katie from death after the audition, when everyone in the building, including other actresses and a gymnasium full of karate students, have turned on her. She studied stage fighting but didn’t learn a lot. Her instincts are good, but she lacks the moves to survive. Without Noel, she’d be dead meat. And without Katie, Noel would be just another square-jawed he-man. (He’s got a backstory, of course, which Katie will gradually pry out of him.)

Written by Rob Yescombe , whose prior work was mainly on video games, “Jackpot!” doesn’t make a lick of real-world sense, and it’s not supposed to. It has a video game-like repetitiousness and gradual escalation, leading to a Big Boss showdown. There’s a lot of obviously improvised comedy that sometimes lands but more often feels like somebody filmed the exercises in a comedy performance workshop. It’s all in service of a movie that’s more half-baked goof than full-blown satire.

And it seems committed to not investigating the deeper implications of the scenario it’s presenting, in which the lottery hunt is the logical outgrowth of a society that seems to have completely given up on modeling decent values and has decided instead to monetize the worst human behavior. When Katie rents a tiny room from a website and realizes when she gets there that it doesn’t look anything like the pictures online, the young woman who rents it, appropriately named Shadi ( Ayden Mayeri ), chirps “we used fake photos, because who’s gonna stay here if we don’t?” Early in the movie, Katie sees a hateful stage dad loudly and profanely griping about his young daughter, who just failed an audition. “Sorry for all the bad words,” he tells the kid. “I only curse when your mom’s being a f—--g b—h.” 

Ace character actress Becky Ann Baker gives us a glimpse of what the movie could’ve become in her brief performance as a lady who seems gentle and kind but is anything but. She captures the professional predator’s self-satisfied inward smirk at fooling somebody who trusts them, a marrow-deep rottenness that is expressed through fleeting glimmers in the eyes, and that is visible only to people who know what to look for. 

But with a few exceptions, the movie’s way shallower than its best character moments. We don’t know what the state gets out of letting people hunt lottery winners–as in the “Purge” series, it seems on its face as if the cleanup required the next day would outweigh whatever value the exercise has in collectively permitting a society to let off some steam–but this is frankly not the kind of movie where you are supposed to think anything except, “that was a pretty funny line,” or “that looks like that must’ve hurt” or “cool stunt.”

There are seeds here that could’ve flowered into an audacious action comedy, perhaps in the vein of “Robocop” or “ The Running Man ” or “Battle Royale.” I kept thinking of that last one throughout “Jackpot!” because, unlike “Jackpot!,” it’s so cynical that it has moved beyond bitterness and into a kind of blase matter-of-factness, and also because it has an actual vision rather than a notion, and the action is imaginatively framed, lit, choreographed, and edited, an area of filmmaking that has never been Feig’s strength or, honestly, one of his main areas of interest (though “Spy” had its kickass moments, such as the kitchen fight ). 

The two stars have good chemistry – they seem to genuinely enjoy being around each other – but there’s nothing in the script that challenges either of them in the way that James Gunn challenged Cena in two genuinely special superhero projects, “ The Suicide Squad ” and “Peacemaker,” or that Lulu Wang challenged Awkwafina in “ The Farewell .” For the most part, this is a lackadaisical project that is an example of the coarsened sensibilities it’s making fun of. As is often the case with improv-driven movies, the outtakes that play during the end credits are more natural and pleasurable than the movie. 

Matt Zoller Seitz

Matt Zoller Seitz is the Editor at Large of RogerEbert.com, TV critic for New York Magazine and Vulture.com, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism.

Now playing

The Fabulous Four

Sheila O'Malley

Tomris Laffly

Crumb Catcher

Robert daniels.

Doctor Jekyll

Clint worthington, film credits.

Jackpot! (2024)

106 minutes

Awkwafina as Katie Kim

John Cena as Noel Cassidy

Simu Liu as Louis Lewis

Ayden Mayeri

Seann William Scott

• Rob Yescombe

Latest blog posts

A Woman Without Peers: Gena Rowlands (1930-2024)

The Needle Drop Sessions: Pump Up the Volume & Untamed Heart

Locarno Film Festival 2024: Youth (Hard Times), Transamazonia, Moon

Thumbnails 8/15/24: Six Must-Reads You Don’t Want To Miss This Week

• Search Please fill out this field.
• Manage Your Subscription
• Give a Gift Subscription
• Newsletters
• Sweepstakes

• Entertainment
• Horror & Thriller Movies

Alien: Romulus Parents Guide: Is the R-Rated Sci-fi Horror Film OK for Tweens to See?

The new film is rated R for "bloody violent content and language"

2024 20th Century Studios

In space no one can hear you scream — but inside the movie theater while watching Alien: Romulus is a different story.

The sci-fi franchise's latest installment is in theaters Aug. 16, starring Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn and Aileen Wu.

Like almost every Alien entry before it, Alien: Romulus scored an R rating, this time for "bloody violent content and language." ( Alien vs. Predator from 2004 is the franchise's only PG-13 offering.)

The new film is directed by Fede Álvarez, who is known for his brutal, gory horror films, like 2013's Evil Dead and 2016's Don't Breathe . As he told Deadline , the movies features "a lot of death” and “psychosexual f---ed up–ness" in the imagery.

Is Alien: Romulus OK for tweens and teens to see? Read on for what parents should expect before letting their kids see the sequel. (Note: There are some spoilers ahead.)

There is frequent bloody creature violence

The violence here is never human-on-human. Instead, a "group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe," per a synopsis. The alien creatures attack them, chase them, bite them, penetrate their mouths, burst from their chests — the list goes on.

These scenes often come accompanied with gore and blood. Futuristic guns come into play as well, with one character opening fire on a legion of approaching Xenomorphs.

There is body horror galore

Body horror is a major element of the film, like all Alien entries before it. The creepy-crawly Face-huggers latch onto human faces and inject the hosts with alien babies. Those infants then hatch from the human's chest before growing into larger monsters.

Elsewhere, the aliens' acid-like blood burns through fingers and body parts, and there's a brief but bloody birthing scene near the end.

As director Fede Álvarez told Digital Spy , the kill scenes are "very brutal." Plus, "We really crank it up towards the end, towards the last few minutes. When you think you've seen it and it's f---ed up, it hasn't even started."

There is some strong language

There is coarse language used by the characters, but mostly in a frustrated or panicked sense in response to the shocks and horrors they face, never a sexual manner.

Sigourney Weaver's iconic line "Get away from her, you bitch!" from 1986's Aliens finds its way into the film for a fun callback.

Related Articles

The Definitive Voice of Entertainment News

Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter

site categories

‘bad monkey’ review: great vibes and a cheeky simian help vince vaughn’s apple tv+ comedy breeze past its flaws.

Bill Lawrence adapts Carl Hiaasen's Florida-set novel as a 10-parter also featuring Natalie Martinez, Michelle Monaghan, Jodie Turner-Smith, Meredith Hagner and Rob Delaney.

By Daniel Fienberg

Daniel Fienberg

Chief Television Critic

• Share on Facebook
• Share to Flipboard
• Send an Email
• Show additional share options
• Share on LinkedIn
• Share on Pinterest
• Share on Reddit
• Share on Tumblr
• Share on Whats App
• Print the Article
• Post a Comment

To lift a title from kids’ novelist Wilson Rawls, this has become the Summer of the Monkeys.

Related Stories

'emily in paris' arrives in l.a., 'alien' returns with 'romulus' and this week's best events, meredith hagner is avoiding cringe at all costs.

And that pretty much sums up my sense of  Bad Monkey : As a mystery, or a semi-thriller, it doesn’t work at all; its twists and turns are clumsily executed, its stakes are flimsy and, especially in the finale, its storylines are unconvincingly resolved. It is, however, wry, easygoing and sunbaked in a way that appropriately mirrors Hiaasen’s tone. With a superb cast led by Vince Vaughn , Natalie Martinez, Michelle Monaghan and Jodie Turner-Smith, plus an impeccable eye for Florida locations, this is an agreeable way to spend 10 hours. 

And did I mention the monkey?

Vaughan plays Andrew Yancy, a former Miami detective shipped down to the Keys after a scandal and given the ignominious title of restaurant inspector. Yancy has a dogged commitment to the truth and a total lack of self-preservation instincts, which impresses and irritates his friend and former partner Rogelio (John Ortiz).

Professionally, things aren’t great for Yancy, but he’s got a perfect cottage on a picturesque stretch of beach, plus a feisty if enigmatic girlfriend (Monaghan’s Bonnie), so he’s content.

They’re right to be suspicious, because Eve is connected to shady Christopher ( Rob Delaney ), another developer, who’s trying to buy up property in a sleepy town in the Bahamas. It’s there that we meet Neville (Ronald Peet), a Bahamian fisherman who shares Yancy’s desire for the simple life and is willing to do anything — including enlisting the Obeah-practicing priestess know as the Dragon Queen (Turner-Smith) — to protect the island’s purity. 

Oh, and Neville has a monkey (Crystal) who loves grapes and funerals.

The story is all narrated by a salty, Jimmy Buffett-esque charter boat captain (Tom Nowicki), and expands to encompass an ensemble of eccentrics including Charlotte Lawrence as Eve’s flighty stepdaughter; Zach Braff as a sleazy doctor with the unlikely name of Israel O’Peele; David St. Louis as a soulful thug called Egg; Ashley Nicole Black as a sarcastic government agent; and  Lost  veteran L. Scott Caldwell as the Dragon Queen’s grandmother, Ya-Ya.

The interplay between Vaughn, a bit too old for the role and yet effectively roguish, and Martinez, buoyant and flirtatious in a way she’s rarely displayed, is thoroughly appealing. Plus Monaghan comes in and out of the story with that wicked glint in her eye that has been so underutilized since  Kiss Kiss Bang Bang , bringing real sizzle to a semi-love-triangle. 

Hagner, blending sweet and strychnine, is channeling vintage Goldie Hawn, which is even better if you know that her mother-in-law is … Goldie Hawn. Her bubbly energy has a perfect foil in Delaney, so tall and so glum.

The Bahamas side of the story is, despite the presence of the titular monkey, more dramatic, defined by Peet’s low-key sincerity and Turner-Smith’s fierce intensity. Those two performers get moments of characterization that have nothing to do with murder and scheming. But does  Bad Monkey  have any insight into, say, touristic exploitation of the Bahamas or Obeah traditions? No. 

The show never quite nails Hiaasen’s satirical edge, his very specific perspective on Florida’s grifters and interlopers, settling for soft mockery of corrupt institutions and the nouveau riche. It’s all surface, but when the surface is this pretty — white-sand beaches, sparkling blue water, condensation glistening on a cold beer — you may very well be happy to spend some time on it. 

THR Newsletters

Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day

More from The Hollywood Reporter

Elizabeth debicki on why she thinks ‘the crown’ “ended in the right place” with season 6, ‘reservation dogs’ dp on capturing deer lady’s emotion the moment after she exacts revenge on a man from her past, ‘fargo’ creator noah hawley on not knowing how season 5 would end and bringing ‘alien: earth’ tv series to fx next, ‘true detective: night country’ showrunner on creator nic pizzolatto’s criticisms of latest season: “it was very confusing”, ‘baby reindeer’ creator richard gadd on the difficult decision of casting himself in the hit netflix series, hollywood flashback: dropped slime boosted ratings for ‘you can’t do that on television’.

• Cast & crew

The Third Parent

Amidst the 4th of July facade of American greatness, a disturbing figure named Tommy Taffy emerges, disguising himself as a human to infiltrate a suburban neighborhood and impose authoritari... Read all Amidst the 4th of July facade of American greatness, a disturbing figure named Tommy Taffy emerges, disguising himself as a human to infiltrate a suburban neighborhood and impose authoritarian rule over the unsuspecting Hollow family. Amidst the 4th of July facade of American greatness, a disturbing figure named Tommy Taffy emerges, disguising himself as a human to infiltrate a suburban neighborhood and impose authoritarian rule over the unsuspecting Hollow family.

• David Michaels
• Elias Witherow

More like this

• When will The Third Parent be released? Powered by Alexa
• October 31, 2024 (United States)
• United States
• Tommy Taffy
• Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA (location)
• Walters Media Group
• Enfant Terrible Cinema
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

Related news, contribute to this page.

• See more gaps
• Learn more about contributing

More to explore

Recently viewed.

Common Sense Media

Movie & TV reviews for parents

• For Parents
• For Educators
• Our Work and Impact

Or browse by category:

Movie reviews.

• Best Movie Lists
• Best Movies on Netflix, Disney+, and More

Common Sense Selections for Movies

50 Modern Movies All Kids Should Watch Before They're 12

• Best TV Lists
• Best TV Shows on Netflix, Disney+, and More
• Common Sense Selections for TV
• Video Reviews of TV Shows

Best Kids' Shows on Disney+

Best Kids' TV Shows on Netflix

• Book Reviews
• Best Book Lists
• Common Sense Selections for Books

8 Tips for Getting Kids Hooked on Books

50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They're 12

• Game Reviews
• Best Game Lists

Common Sense Selections for Games

• Video Reviews of Games

Nintendo Switch Games for Family Fun

• Podcast Reviews
• Best Podcast Lists

Common Sense Selections for Podcasts

Parents' Guide to Podcasts

• App Reviews
• Best App Lists

Social Networking for Teens

Gun-Free Action Game Apps

Reviews for AI Apps and Tools

• YouTube Channel Reviews
• YouTube Kids Channels by Topic

Parents' Ultimate Guide to YouTube Kids

YouTube Kids Channels for Gamers

• Preschoolers (2-4)
• Little Kids (5-7)
• Big Kids (8-9)
• Pre-Teens (10-12)
• Teens (13+)
• Screen Time
• Social Media
• Online Safety
• Identity and Community

How to Prepare Your Kids for School After a Summer of Screen Time

• Family Tech Planners
• Digital Skills
• All Articles
• Latino Culture
• Black Voices
• Asian Stories
• Native Narratives
• LGBTQ+ Pride
• Best of Diverse Representation List

Multicultural Books

YouTube Channels with Diverse Representations

Podcasts with Diverse Characters and Stories

Parents and caregivers, find movies by age.

How old is your kid?

You can add another kid later.

What streaming service(s) do you have?

0 selected. Click on logos to select.

Set content limits for your kid

If a media pick exceeds the content limits you've set for your kid, you'll see this flag. Learn more

Violence & Scariness

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

What's your kid's name?

We value your privacy and will not share this publicly.

New Streaming Movies

Mean Girls (2024)

Anyone But You

Poor Things

Dune: Part Two

The Holdovers

The Boys in the Boat

The Marvels

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

Orion and the Dark

The Iron Claw

Kung Fu Panda 4

The Beekeeper

The Boy and the Heron

New in theaters, great watch-together picks, popular with parents, family laughs.