65

Rating – 1.5/4

*SPOILERS* 

         A long time ago…in a galaxy far, far away…

         No seriously. That’s where this movie takes place. And it even has Kylo Ren in it to make things sweeter. Except, there’s no lightsabers, First Order, Jedi, or the Force. But there is still Adam Driver fighting dinosaurs. Or, at least that’s what the movie promises.

         Hailing from the planet Somaris, Adam Driver plays an astronaut named Mills, who is on a two-year space expedition in order to use the money to treat his ailing daughter. But along the way, his ship crash lands on a mysterious planet. With the only other survivor being a girl named Koa (Ariana Greenblatt), the two must survive against the massive creatures that inhabit the planet: The Dinosaurs.

         Turns out, they’ve landed on Earth sixty-five million years before the present day.

         So, when I said this movie takes place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, I wasn’t joking for the sake of Star Wars references.

         When I first heard of this movie, I was excited. I love dinosaurs and I love-sci-fi so here was a perfect mash-up. Come on, it’s Adam Driver fighting dinosaurs! A big, dumb action movie! It had an A-list actor who was no stranger to sci-fi, an interesting premise, and dinosaurs! Perfect, right?

         Well, the movie may have dinosaurs, but there isn’t a lot of action. Sure, there’s scary moments but I was expecting more B-movie thrills. Instead, the movie is more of a survival thriller with dinosaurs only in the background. Mills and Koa need to find a way off the planet, whilst working together.

         But all the human drama and dinosaur thrills only feel like brushstrokes and not a complete work. 65 isn’t sure of what it wants to be. Is it a survival thriller where two strangers have to work together, or is it a dinosaur action film? Sadly, the film never quite struck that balance. Hell, it could’ve just been a simple survival movie about two people getting lost in a national park or during a disaster and they have to survive or something like that. But the dinosaurs were added only for pure spice. There were no prominent themes like overreliance on technology or respect for nature and everything felt glossed over.

         I also wanted more world building. I wanted to know more about the technology in Mills’ world. The spaceships, the other planets, and his backstory, as well as his mission. I wanted to know more about Koa’s culture and her background. Grab the audience! Build a lore! You can’t have galaxy adventures without good world building, can you? It’s not The Last of Us or The Mandalorian where there is a balance of action and heart, as well as deeper themes of humanity. No, 65 is a movie that promises dinosaur action, and decides to give only previews of what it could’ve been.

         65 is a movie with a good premise and there is a good movie in here somewhere, but it’s a case of poor execution. It has good visuals and the performances are adequate, but it only scratches the surface of what it can truly be. Maybe if the filmmakers allowed it to evolve, then it could’ve been better. It’s not a bad movie and it might not go extinct completely, but it’s not worth excavating its remains.