"65" is a Snooze - Movie Review

What’s better than Adam Driver? Adam Driver with dinosaurs! At least, that’s what the crew behind 65 want you to believe. Sadly, the finished product does not live up to its premise.

65 refers to the millions of years ago, during which dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Turns out, for a moment in time, so did Adam Driver. As Mill, Driver finds himself crash landed on Earth during prehistoric times. It is up to him to ensure that he and the only other survivor from the crash, a young girl named Koa, make it off the planet safely.

How Do You Make Dinosaurs Boring?

The set-up, though simple, seems like it has promise. When I initially heard about 65, I was looking forward to it. I can’t name many dinosaur movies that aren’t Jurassic Park – seems like untapped potential – and I like Adam Driver. A recipe for popcorn entertainment, I thought. Sadly, 65 never reaches its potential. Saddled by poor VFX, a boring script, and repetition, even at an hour and 33 minutes, 65 feels too long.

Knowing what Driver can bring to a project, I had hoped that he would be able to lift the story off the ground. It proves to be an impossible task. He is not bad in the movie but he just feels lifeless. Like he is trying to make something happen but knows that he can’t – no matter how hard he tries.

Too Repetitive to Care

To the film’s credit, it sets itself up quickly. We have an idea of what’s happening, where we are, and where we need to go within the first couple of minutes. Something that not every Blockbuster can take credit for these days. The problem is, after the set-up, we are left with repetitious scene after repetitious scene. Our characters are walking, then they are in danger, then they escape danger. Rinse and repeat.

The danger is not exhilarating enough to feel new each time. Not only that, but the budget must have been small enough that they could rarely actually show the prehistoric beasts. We would see a tail here and a claw there. But by and large, 65 does not feature any onscreen dinosaurs – a huge detriment to a movie about dinosaurs. With these issues, the movie gets boring quickly. With the minimal dialogue that the screenplay has, the issue is really highlighted the more it happens.

Why?

When we eventually hit our conclusion, I was left wondering, “what was the point?” Not because I believe every movie has to have a grand thesis. But because I want to feel like I understand why something was made. What did those involve hope to achieve. With 65, I am left wondering if the hope was a large box office return. And with the way things are looking this weekend, if they don’t achieve that, the question looms larger.

What was the point?