Good Dirk Pitt movie.

I rewatch this film every time I finish another Dirk Pitt novel. Because... well, this is what we got, yeah? This really isn't a bad movie. And it's definitely not a great movie. I watched it a little harder than usual this time, really paid attention to every line of dialog. Which is hard with Penelope Cruz. I love this film. Always have. I never liked MM's casting until now. He really is a pretty good Dirk Pitt. Some of the costume choices and attitude choices were a little off, but by no means to the detriment of the character. I have much more beef with Al. But i'll get back to that. The dialog writing in the script I think is spot, for everybody. But they're not always delivered correctly. Al suffers the worst from this. Zhan did a great job, and honestly, I can't think of a better actor of the time to swap out. I just would have put him in the gym, gave him a hair cut and told him to settle down some. MM is actually mouthing some of the clunky Cussler dialog here and he's pulling it off. That's impressive. And the camaraderie between the two is aces. I really wouldn't change much. Just gym time. Al is the Energizer Bunny. He just keeps going. There's a few bad edits in the film. In the opening gunfight at the well, Al runs of to deal with a dude, and he's not seen again till it's over. There's no resolution. Little things like that are peppered throughout the film. Budget? Rating? IDK Another big problem with the proposed trilogy is this is not a good opening salvo for a trilogy. This is the middle bit. A Rambo II desert sand adventure for an aquatic hero set? That's CONFUSING for educating the masses. Truly. Even though they did a great job. Until I read the book, I honestly couldn't follow the movie, and the movie doesn't even follow the book that well! (Though I do think it improves on the conclusion.) What was that red algae thing all about? Unless you connect red with the color red on a computer model of spreading dead oceans, you're lost. Chop chop chop. Sandecker will never be cast better. All said and done though, if you watch this movie enough times, it's pretty damn good. But it's not great.