’65’ Review – A Cool Sci-Fi Concept In Need Of Some Stronger Follow-Through

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.

The whole concept behind 65 sounds very fascinating. A humanoid alien is sent on a mission to transfer some cargo, but an asteroid belt throws him off course to an Earth that is inhabited by dinosaurs. What if aliens discovered our planet first and had to survive, and through this process unintentionally gave the next source of living beings a form of communication?

This entire premise does indeed sound very fun, but the creative team of Scott Beck & Bryan Woods decided to go another route which was focus more on the survival elements. This admittedly makes for an interesting film, but it would have been more rewarding to see if they could have mixed both elements a little bit more evenly. If they could nail this, many of the issues with the film more than likely would have been fixed.

This is Commander Mills. My ship was hit by an undocumented asteroid, transporting thirty-five passengers, on a long range flight exploration mission.

One of the primary stumbling blocks of the film is the chemistry between Mills and Koa. The characters were not necessarily bad together, but the dynamic never felt completely natural especially when they were tying to make things cute and funny. One can argue that this was an intentional creative decision since they are meeting officially for the first time, but the familiarity does not grow stronger even at the end. When you compare this to the relationship between Mills and his daughter, Nevine (Chloe Coleman), the differences are even more stark. The father-daughter relationship is one of the stronger points of the story. 

Even though Ariana Greenblatt does not have the most engaging chemistry with Driver, her character proves to be interesting on her own. Greenblatt had to learn two different languages for this role, a feat which you would never guess given how natural the performance is throughout. The dedication to her craft is readily apparent, and the need to navigate a language and communication barrier in order to survive works really well thematically.

The family dynamic with Mills, Nevine, and his wife provides a great emotional grounding point for the narrative. The simple inclusion of these characters give the whole story a sense of urgency. It would have been nice to see a little back and forth between scenes of the mother and daughter and Mills on his mission, along the lines of what we have seen in Interstellar. If anyone could have handled this balancing act, it would have been the writers of A Quiet Place.

I don’t know where we are. I’ve located one survivor. A child.

Despite the many strong points, this didn’t feel like a theatrical film. If anything, it felt like a streaming film that could have gone to Netflix. We are glad to have the theatrical experience as an option with a huge screen and the best sound system. Even still, strictly speaking on its look, the visuals are lacking with the dinosaurs looking a little plastic and the outer space moments never breaking any new ground. With that in mind, the gun design and the anti-gravity bombs were a pretty cool addition.

Overall, the film is a bit of a disappointment. 65 is weak in a lot of places, but it has a really cool concept that should have been explored more. If you like Adam Driver, you will not be disappointed by his moment of being a badass, and sci-fi enthusiasts should find elements to enjoy. Even though it was a disappointment, it was not a complete failure of a film.

65 is currently playing in theaters courtesy of Sony Pictures.