Growing up, I used to watch a lot of sci-fi B-movies, which featured simpler premises of a Twilight Zone or Star Trek episode stretched to movie length and a much more modest budget production-wise. Most of these movies are now released direct-to-streaming, but occasionally, a few of them wind up getting cinematic releases and 65 is one of them.

Dino Action

The movie’s title teases a somewhat vague and mysterious product but 65 is ultimately a very straightforward movie, just like those aforementioned old sci-fi B-movies. Without spoiling the specifics of the plot, what you see in the trailer for 65 is essentially what you get. Adam Driver’s character, Mills, gets stranded on a prehistoric planet with dinosaurs and tries to survive with a little girl he’s trying to protect.

It’s not complex. That’s literally what the whole movie is for its entire runtime. Adam Driver and Ariana Greenblatt are the movie’s only two major human characters, and viewers follow them from beginning to end. Sure, 65 does feature some emotional stakes with the family members (wife and daughter) of Adam Driver’s character, but that’s all there is when it comes to meaningful character development. The movie is less of a sci-fi film in that it doesn’t offer any explanations of its sci-fi themes, but it feels more like a buddy movie (a subgenre of film in which two people are put together and are on an adventure, a quest, or a road trip) with some creature feature action.

The whole movie is about the two of them fighting off dinosaurs and trying to find a way to get off the planet. Unfortunately, there’s not enough of that to justify watching the whole movie. Likely due to budgetary constraints or perhaps because this was filmed during the pandemic, there are only several rare instances where dinosaurs show up and even then, they’re unremarkable when compared to the recent Jurassic World movies. While that may be an unfair comparison, 65 could have potentially accomplished a lot more with its dinosaurs. If you’re thinking of watching 65 for its dinosaurs, you will probably be a bit disappointed in that regard.

There’s not much else I can say about 65. The interactions between the two characters can be endearing and even adorable at times, but it’s weird that they made Ariana Greenblatt’s character unable to speak or understand English. While this technically opens up other avenues of communication between their characters, such as non-verbal communication and gestures, it doesn’t make for engaging or witty back-and-forth banter between the two. It works more like the relationship between Din Djarin and Grogu in The Mandalorian, in a way.

Streaming-Worthy

However, as it is, 65 is pretty much a snoozefest with some action and not much else. It would probably have been better if Sony Pictures sold the movie to streaming services, where expectations are much lower compared to theatrical releases in cinemas. The best thing I can say about 65 is that it’s the perfect movie for you to shut your brain off and enjoy if you’ve got some free time and nothing else to watch on a weekend.

If you’re here looking for a whole movie of Adam Driver sort of doing the God Of War’s Kratos or The Mandalorian’s Din Djarin father figure act, you may be able to enjoy the movie more. Otherwise, don’t bother with this sci-fi mashup.

FINAL SCORE: 40/100

We attended an early screener of 65 courtesy of Sony Pictures Malaysia. 65 is slated to premiere in Malaysian cinemas on 9 March 2023.