I spent most of the time watching 65 wondering how it ever got made. Did the writers of "A Quiet Place" (an excellent film) pitch a Planet of the Apes/Jurassic Park mash-up with one of the best young actors on planet Earth?
What is Adam Driver doing here? Maybe he's taking the Michael Caine approach for one film. When someone famously asked Caine about "Jaws: The Revenge" he said, 'I've never seen it, but I saw the house it bought me and that's spectacular."
Whatever path 65 took to the screen, here it is. Interesting and OK, it's well made but unnecessary.
Driver stars as Mills, the pilot of a transport ship to a distant colony who's taken the 2-year gig to help pay for his daughter's medical bills. The opening scenes show Mills and his family struggling but committed to that decision, then we're whisked off to space where an unexpected meteor storm nearly destroys the ship and it plummets to Earth.
But wait! "Apes" style, this is Earth 65 million years ago so there are going to be cool dinosaurs and lava and giant bugs!
When I wasn't pondering how it got green lit, I was wishing the writers had spent more time focusing on the potential story lines around the fact that this clearly human man and advanced space travel is flying around the universe 65 million years ago. Why do they look and dress like us and speak English? What are the odds of that? (Probably about the same as the studio spending $45 million on this movie.)
Shortly after crash landing, Mills discovers that there is another survivor from one of the suspended animation pods. The young girl, Koa is no wallflower and young actress Ariana Greenblatt (young Gamora in "Avengers: Infinity War") does a nice job physically conveying her emotions, since she speaks a different language than Mills. They bond over survival, working together to get to the main wreckage of the ship, where an escape launch vehicle gives them a potential escape from the planet.
The special effects are fine. Seeing Mills battle massive dinos with futuristic weapons can be fun and the sound effects team is solid. Adam Driver is WAY better than the material but does have some good moments with Greenblatt. His real life military weapons training pays off as he stabs, punches and shoots a gallery of slimy creatures.
I bet Driver's new house is incredible. As for 65, it gets a C.
At only 93 minutes long, as least it's over quickly.
Comments