65 (2023) - Movie Review

Director: Scott Beck, Bryan Woods
Starring: Adam Driver, Ariana Greenblatt, Chloe Coleman, Nika King
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Writer: Scott Beck, Bryan Woods
Runtime: 93 min
Rated: PG-13 for intense sci-fi action and peril, and brief bloody images
Buy This Movie: Blu-ray (Amazon), DVD (Amazon), 4K Ultra HD (Amazon), Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV

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Synopsis:

After a catastrophic crash on an unknown planet, pilot Mills (Adam Driver) quickly discovers he’s actually stranded on Earth…65 million years ago. Now, with only one chance at rescue, Mills and the only other survivor, Koa (Ariana Greenblatt), must make their way across an unknown terrain riddled with dangerous prehistoric creatures in an epic fight to survive. From the writers of A Quiet Place comes 65, a sci-fi thriller produced by Sam Raimi, Deborah Liebling, Zainab Azizi, Scott Beck and Bryan Woods.

Review:

A movie like "65" should be a slam dunk. Just think about it. A man's spaceship crash lands on an alien planet. Said planet turns out to be Earth 65 million years ago. Man fights dinosaurs to survive and return home. It's a banger of a story, and it should be, at least in theory, impossible to screw up. But here we are, watching the dullest adventure in the history of the galaxy unfold before our very eyes.

The banger of a story unfortunately also includes a young girl, Koa, played by Ariana Greenblatt, whose parents died in the crash, and also happens to speak a language that our hero, Mills, doesn't understand. This leads to more frustration, as the movie attempts to force an emotional connection between the two that never materializes. The characters are flat and lifeless, which leaves both Adam Driver and Greenblatt grasping at straws to at least deliver watchable performances. And the language barrier is an inconsistent plot device, as Mills and Koa rapidly become able to understand each other, because the movie can't waste too much of its already short runtime figuring out a clever way for these characters to interact.

Since the characters are duds, at least we have dinosaurs to make this movie a fun guilty pleasure. Well, yes and no. When the dinosaurs make an appearance to break up the monotony of our protagonists trying to bond, the action is lively, but also disappointingly contrived. Also Mills survives superhero levels of physical abuse, which takes away all the tension. The visual effects look convincing enough for a movie that cost $45 million to produce ($57 million minus tax rebates), but in the end this feels more like a children's cartoon than a sci-fi survival thriller.

Overall, it's watchable, but a major letdown. I expected more from the writers of "A Quiet Place". That was at least a creative creature feature. "65" is empty and forgettable, and it takes itself all too seriously.

SCORE: 5.5/10