65 review

65: 

ADAM DRIVER SHINES IN VERY GENERIC SCI-FI DINOSAUR FLICK! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: ** ½ out of 4

COLUMBIA PICTURES

Adam Driver in 65

 

            Adam Driver (Star Wars franchise, BlacKkKlansman, Marriage Story) fights for survival and fights dinosaurs in 65, the new sci-fi thriller produced by Sam Raimi (Evil Dead franchise, Spider-Man trilogy, Drag Me to Hell) and written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (Nightlight, A Quiet Place, Haunt). Some of you might know this or maybe you don’t, but I love me some “So Bad It’s Good” movies and 65 definitely seemed like it was going to be one of those. 

            Adam Driver blasting dinosaurs with a space gun and trying to survive, how could it not be one of those mindless, B-movie popcorn flicks? Plus, the film is helmed by the guys who wrote the screenplay for A Quiet Place which is a brilliant movie and Sam Raimi of Evil Dead fame as a producer, I’m sold! 

            So, I eagerly got my ticket ready to have a blast and…it’s alright. I don’t think it’s as bad as what most critics are saying as there is a lot to appreciate in it, but this film kind of falls into the same traps that Cowboys & Aliens fell into where a movie like this needed to be much sillier and fun rather than played straight and taken seriously. 

            The film follows a pilot named Mills (Driver) whose ship was caught in an asteroid field resulting in a catastrophic collision on an unknown planet. That planet is Earth, but not just Earth…Earth 65 million years ago. 

            Mills and a young girl who was also on the ship named Koa (Newcomer, Ariana Greenblatt) must traverse through this uncharted landscape and avoid prehistoric threats in order to survive and hopefully escape before the meteorite that supposedly killed all the dinosaurs creates an alternate universe where lizards evolve into humans…spoiler, this is a prequel to the 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie…actually no, it isn’t! 

             Overall, 65 is the perfect example of an extremely generic sci-fi film that is elevated by its two leads. Had it not been for Driver and Greenblatt who are both giving their all, this probably would have been incredibly dull and quickly forgettable, but I found myself being invested enough because of their performances. 

            Adam Driver and Ariana Greenblatt work quite well together with Driver being the ship captain with advanced high-tech weaponry and tools for survival while Greenblatt is this little girl who speaks very little English, but emotes a lot to get her feelings across, communicates in a foreign language, and speaks a few words of English here and there. I enjoy seeing these two interact with one another, teach/learn new tricks, and help each other survive and escape the planet, you feel a strong connection between both characters without the use of heavy dialogue. 

            While the action sequences and dinosaur chases pale in comparison to Jurassic Park and not quite as prominent as you’d may hope, they are legitimately thrilling and heart-pounding such as slowly sneaking away from a flock of pterodactyls nearby, getting chased by carnivorous dinosaurs, and there’s even a T-Rex climax. Even though it may not be the silly dinosaur VS alien movie the trailers advertised, it certainly has moments of it. 

            The landscapes are also stunning to look at and definitely take advantage of the big screen. From sweeping shots of canyons and geysers to the dark and mysterious forest environments, I’ll give the production designers credit that this is a beautiful looking movie. 

            The plot is a basic survival film and nothing more, but also recycles elements from other, better sci-fi films with the most notable examples being Planet of the Apes, Jurassic Park, and a little bit of The Twilight Zone. At times, it even reminded me of the 2013 M. Night Shyamalan bomb After Earth except with much better acting in terms of its tone and the way the prehistoric Earth looks.

            For me, the biggest problem with 65 is that despite having some fun moments and decent acting from Driver and Greenblatt, it’s taken too seriously and never really delivers the silly guilty pleasure entertainment its marketing and narrative might suggest. Had this was more along the lines of the recent Rampage movie, The Meg, or some of those other “So Bad It’s Good” creature features from the 90s-early 2000s, 65 could have been a very fun movie, but as is it’s just another by-the-numbers survival movie with some standout performances and scenes. 

            65 may not be one of the worst films I’ve seen this year, but with an idea that has so much potential and entertainment value and the actors bringing their A-game for such an empty film, it leaves a lot to be desired. Some may call this a mixed bag and as mentioned before, I don’t think it’s a terrible movie because there are a lot of things to admire about it, but it’s so derivative of other sci-fi stories that it never really develops its own identity, so it just becomes another bland and forgettable sci-fi adventure.