65 is an unimpressive sci-fi thriller that, for my money, doesn’t have any kind of thrilling moments or characters that we root for in the least. If anything, it has a lackadaisical pace despite a runtime of 93 minutes, and the special effects are poorly done.
Adam Driver stars as Mills, a pilot 65 million years ago (Yes, you read that right) who takes on a two-year space mission that will help pay for his dying daughter’s illness. He lives on another planet to take the mission, but he ends up crashing into uncharted territory. Later he finds out that he’s on Earth, and it seems that he’s the only one.
Ariana Greenblatt costars as Koa, a small girl who also exists on Earth and communicates differently than Mills. He speaks English while she responds to a weird form of sign language. Together, he takes care of her and tries to lead them out of the dangerous planet which is occupied by dinosaurs. No, this is not part of the Jurassic Park series.
Mills discovers that an asteroid is approaching Earth, and they are running out of time to get off Earth safely. Meanwhile, the deadly dinos are not making their journey any easier as they want to devour them at every turn.
The scenes involving the dinos are not exciting or terrifying. If anything, the movie is photographed in such a drab style that it’s almost impossible to make out what kind of dinosaurs they are. The action scenes are dull, without any sense of tension or unpredictability. Every time one of the characters is in danger of becoming dinner for the dinos, the other character jumps in for the save.
Driver is wasted here as a character who has little backstory worth caring about. He doesn’t project any kind of energy, joy or magnitude necessary for the hero of this movie.
The plot is intriguing, but ultimately the execution is one that ends up being monotonous instead of tantalizing.
The script is just as extinct as one of the dinos on the screen.
Grade: C-
(Rated PG-13 for intense sci-fi action and peril, and brief bloody images.)
