65
Written by Cameron Geiser
The trailers for 65 didn’t exactly spell out the details of what was happening in their film, their marketing team seemed to err on the side of mystery over exposition and that’s what got me into the theater. I wish the film had also leaned into this creative choice, instead of directly telling us the context of the film’s concept in the first scene. However, the remainder of the film won me back by leaning into the genre heavy setting and scenario at hand. Adam Driver stars in this science fiction B-movie wherein his spaceship crash lands on an unknown planet after hitting a few unexpected meteors. That planet, as the title implies, is Earth– 65 million years ago.
Armed with some futuristic tech and half of a banged up spaceship, Mills (Driver) surveys the land and it isn’t too long before he finds most of the crew’s dead bodies strewn about the crash site. The only other survivor that Mills finds alive is Koa (Ariana Greenblatt), a young girl that speaks a different language from Mills. The two pair up despite the lack of shared communication and trek through the valley to find the other half of the ship. It’s a fairly straightforward action/adventure survival flick, and as such, you’d do well to measure your expectations.
65 is specifically for action enthusiasts and no one else.
The script is pretty bare bones, and fairly workman-like. While I appreciated the use of silence at times, the script’s dialogue is only really effective at moving the narrative further, but there is no style, flair, or personality. It’s mostly dry emotional appendices to inform us of our protagonist’s past. There are other times when the film seemingly contradicts itself or feels it has to remind us that our two main characters' can’t actually understand each other due to the language barrier in obvious and clunky script machinations. It isn’t outright horrible, just a bit silly at times. Trust your audience, they can remember plot points and information longer than a goldfish.
What the film does do well is placing the characters in harrowing situations, like getting stuck in quicksand, or nearly getting crushed to death while crawling through narrow caves. There are some thrills to be had, definitely. For a big budget B-movie, this isn’t too bad- the dinosaurs look great, they’re utilized effectively as creatures of suspense, and crucially they aren’t overused in gratuitously stupid ways like some other recent films featuring dinosaurs. It also doesn’t hurt that the film has a lean 93 minute runtime. 65 doesn’t overstay its welcome, nor does it attempt to strive for more than a good rainy day sci-fi movie. If you’re looking for a fun dinosaur-themed distraction, this should suffice.
Cameron Geiser is an avid consumer of films and books about filmmakers. He'll watch any film at least once, and can usually be spotted at the annual Traverse City Film Festival in Northern Michigan. He also writes about film over at www.spacecortezwrites.com.