23 Mar 65 Movie Review

65

dirs. Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, starring Adam Driver and Ariana Greenblatt

After a catastrophic crash on an unknown planet, pilot Mills quickly discovers he’s actually stranded on Earth — 65 million years ago. Now, with only one chance at a rescue, Mills and the only other survivor, Koa, must make their way across an unknown terrain riddled with dangerous prehistoric creatures.

The idea of 65 is an intriguing concept: what would happen if an advanced civilization crashed landed on early 65 million years ago and had to survive amongst the dinosaurs? A thesis like that could only go one of two ways: a deep dive into the analysis of the superiority of technology and how it could’ve changed our entire trajectory as a species or an underbaked story that says let’s shoot dinosaurs with plasma rifles. As cool as that sounds, the cool doesn’t translate to 65, a movie about crashed space pilot Mills and fellow crash survivor Koa as they navigate the treacherous lands of the cretaceous period to reach their escape pod and rendezvous with their rescue. The front half of the movie is bland and lifeless, with Mills’ motivation to raise money to help save his daughter from an unexplained (to the viewer) disease being his driving factor. Unfortunately, the five minute setup we get with Mills and his daughter doesn’t do nearly enough to buy into a man desperate to get back to the people he loves (see: Interstellar for this storyline done well). For her part, Koa, wanting to reunited with her own family, joins Mills in the worst version of Lone Wolf and Cub to date. It’s not until the introduction of a ticking clock that gives the movie any sort of life; the film’s pace picks up considerably, ramping from lifeless to something resembling life support. Somewhere in here is a good idea attempting to escape, but any sparks of life are snuffed out by subpar writing, feeble direction, and subpar acting.

Starring Adam Driver and Ariana Greenblatt, the entirety of the film depends on them. With the exception of the opening scene, they’re the only human characters in the movie and thusly the audience’s gateway into the story. With Driver being the older, more established actor, most of the attention is owed to him and sadly here the proven talented actor is not up to task. While some credit for his weak performance must be attributed to such a trite script, Driver seems wholly uninterested in attempting his best on screen. Ariana Greenblatt is doing the best she can with her material; still only 15 years old, she has plenty of time to sharpen her skills and display her abilities in projects with more promise. The two together possess almost no chemistry; the attempts at bonding through humor fall flat and they spend almost as much time apart from one another as they do together on the screen. Had there been a more honest approach to the characters and more attention paid to the relationship between the two, the project as a whole could only have been better.

Developed by the writing/directing duo Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, 65 marks their largest film to date. Best known for their work on the script for the 2018 smash hit A Quiet Place, 65 may make audiences wonder how much of that success was Beck and Woods and how much of it was director John Krasinski. 65’s stagnant script, halfhearted attempts at bonding the story’s odd couple, and dodgy effects prove that the pair have a ways to go in developing their skills. With the exception of one incredibly well done scene with a giant Theropod, the movie lacks any sort of palpable suspense or real sense of danger. Thanks to both Adam Driver’s bland acting and the duo’s dull direction, any tense situation the characters find themselves in may lead to a sense of apathy from moviegoers; there’s nothing in the film that makes them connect with Mills and Koa.

Overall, 65 is not a good movie by any stretch of the imagination. While the premise has a bit of interest to it, the writing and execution of said premise leave plenty to be desired. Adam Driver seems to almost be just going through the motions, turning in one of his weakest performances to date. Uninspired direction, shoddy visual effects, and subpar acting make this not one of the worst offerings of the year, but pretty damn close. A poor excuse for a reason to put dinosaurs and laser guns in the same setting, 65 feels like only 65 minutes were spent developing this film. The movie is currently in theaters.

Review by Darryl Mansel