a5c7b9f00b Master explorer and former US Navy Seal Dirk Pitt and his wisecracking buddy Al Giordino goes on the adventure of a lifetime of seeking out a lost Civil War ironclad battleship known as the "Ship of Death" that protects a secret cargo is lost somewhere in the deserts of West Africa. But while the two cross paths with a beautiful and brilliant U.N. scientist Dr. Eva Rojas who is being hounded by a ruthless dictator. She believes that the hidden treasure may be connected to a larger problem that threatens the world around them. Hunting for a ship that no one else thinks exists, Dirk, Al, and Eva must rely on their wits and their daring heroics to outsmart dangerous warlords, survive the threatening terrain, and get to the bottom of both mysteries. Searching for a treasure on the River Niger, Dirk Pitt thwarts the attempted assassination of a beautiful W.H.O. scientist investigating a disease that is killing thousands of North Africans. The suspected cause of the raging epidemic is vast, unprecedented pollution that threatens to extinguish all life in the world's seas. Racing to save the world from environmental catastrophe, Pitt and his team run a gauntlet between a billionaire French industrialist and a bloodthirsty West African tyrant. In the scorching desert, Pitt uncovers the truth behind his life-long quest - the fate of a Civil War ironclad. Now, amidst the blazing, shifting sands of the Sahara, Dirk Pitt will make a desperate stand – in a battle the world cannot afford to lose! Big budget, weak acting and mediocre plot. Worst of all were Penelope Cruz with a total lack of energy on the screen. More stiff acting one has to search hard for.<br/><br/>Pretty much each turn of events could be guessed about 5 minutes in advance, so you won't get any surprises here either.<br/><br/>The precurser (10 minutes in the beginning, not really part of the plot) was kind of nifty though, played out in the 19th century with a steamboat looking like a stealth airplane bouncing canon balls off it's hull instead of radar waves. When the real plot kicked in though, it all went downhill.<br/><br/>What does this flick has to offer? Who knows? What was it the writers wanted to tell? Who knows? The movie is overall a good way to loose yourself for a couple of hours. This type of movie will never impress the Oscar buffs but if you want action and comedy and like things blowing up then this is for you. The acting is in line with the genre, the realms of possibility stretched in places but it is a movie after all. Steve Zahn has holds his own (or at least his hair does - you have to see the film to understand this) against 'Dirk Pitt's' the tanned lean hero machine of a man. I don't remember the book having so much comedic banter between the main characters but it helps keep the film entertaining. There are more serious elements about the environment and African poverty, the warlord bad guys' comment "Nobody cares about Africa" about sums up the state of things. They do not dwell on the issues but again don't ignore them. The film is not there to preach but entertain, which it does well. Roll on the next one! This perfectly distracting, ultimately unsatisfying film feels like a James Bond flick in which the stand-in got the lead.
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