65
Starring: Adam Driver, Ariana Greenblatt, Chloe Coleman, and Nika King
Directors: Scott Beck and Bryan Woods
ADRIANO
A man crashes on earth 65 million years ago and has to survive dinosaurs, and that man is played by the always reliable Adam Driver. Surely, that can’t possibly be boring, right? Well, through uninspired storytelling and weak stakes that are half-baked, that’s what 65 winds up being: boring. Some of the stuff with the dinosaurs is a little cool, especially with how lighting is used to intensify the situation at moments, but with failed attempts at emotional turmoil and its use of action/horror, I really felt nothing but the urge to fall asleep.
JACOB
How do you take a near-perfect premise – Adam Driver fights dinosaurs on prehistoric earth – and make it as boring as humanly possible? 65, which is structurally bereft and a thematic nonstarter, is the answer. It’s not as if the film is unsalvageable or that it’s actively making bad decisions, but it’s also never making any good ones. Had Driver had anything to work with script-wise, he and Ariana Greenblatt might have had a gem on their hands. But with little-to-no actual character development and a host of nonsensical logic leaps, the film seems steadfastly committed to being the least interesting version of itself.
DARRYL
65 is not a good movie by any stretch of the imagination. While the premise has a bit of intrigue to it, the writing and execution of said premise leave plenty to be desired. Adam Driver seems to simply be going through the motions, turning in one of his weakest performances to date. Uninspired direction, shoddy visual effects, and subpar acting make this, maybe not one of the worst offerings of the year, but pretty damn close. A poor excuse for a reason to put dinosaurs and laser guns in the same setting, 65 feels like only 65 minutes were spent developing this film.
