65 Movie Review - An Enjoyable Man vs Dinosaur Action Movie
Some 65 million years ago, an astronaut (Adam Driver) carrying a load of humans to their new home crashed and landed on Earth. He must attempt to locate an escape ship while defending the crew's lone survivor, a young girl, in the face of the hazardous terrain and plenty of dinosaurs.
A good middle-of-the-road action film is 65. Despite the fact that it is undoubtedly unimpressive and stars the great Adam driver, the movie is still worth seeing because there is enough action packed into the brief 90-minute running time. But, it makes too many attempts to do everything, particularly by spending too much time creating a universe.
I thought Adam Driver's character was a person who wound up in the past when I first saw the trailer for Scott Beck and Bryan Woods' 65. Instead, an opening crawl indicates that the story takes set in a different galaxy that just so happens to have existed "a long time ago," much like star Driver's previous franchise. It's an odd decision with way too much exposition crammed into the opening few minutes, awkwardly revealing driver is a working-class pilot who is carrying people to pay for his daughter's expensive, ongoing medical care. He will be separated from his family for two years due to his mission.
The fact that the movie is set in a different galaxy makes me believe Beck and Woods are planning a series, but the movie probably won't generate enough interest for a sequel. We've seen enough human vs. dinosaur combat in the three Jurassic World films that it's difficult to keep the idea new. Though still outstanding, the dinosaur CGI in the Jurassic films is less polished (given that this costs a fraction of what they did). Much of the action will be difficult to understand unless you watch this in a premium theater since, like many modern movies, the photography is so gloomy (a problem that should be chalked up more to the sorry state of the exhibition than the movie itself).
The fact that Adam driver plays the lead character and gives a strong performance helps the film. While the girl he is defending, Koa doesn't speak english or whatever driver is supposed to speak, he is the only character in the movie with significant conversation. driver consistently delivers a strong performance, whether it's in a drama or an action movie. He appears admirably engaged in the action, taking the film seriously, and never acting the part. Similarly, despite having no spoken lines, Ariana Greenblatt is able to convey exactly what her character is thinking, and she and driver have good father-daughter chemistry. Regrettably, the timing of the film is poor since The Last of Us, another surrogate father-daughter story, will serve as the benchmark for all other similar films and television programs in the future. It is incomparable.
The only way to appreciate 65 is as a mindless sci-fi actioner. Even though there aren't any particularly noteworthy action sequences, the movie never really drags. The only aspect of this film that feels new and original is Driver's struggle to survive on earth 65 million years ago, which is where the better parts of the film focus. Had driver been less well-armed, the movie probably would have been considerably more interesting. Even though it's entertaining to watch him shoot dinosaurs, it starts to resemble a video game you're watching someone else play a little too much.