Review
65 is a science fiction action movie directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. Starring Adam Driver, in what I can only imagine was a paycheck role, 65 comes off as cheap and highly predictable. The poorly cut trailer gave away the only interesting plot point and the lazy editing made it painful to sit through.
Usually, January – March is considered to be the dumping ground for movies that aren’t worth the effort to market. It’s cold outside, people are tired from traveling over the holidays, others are sick, etc. It’s tough to get people to buy tickets for lackluster movies like this one and if you missed it, consider yourself lucky.
Much like sword and sandal movies (see Conan the Barbarian), I love a good cheesy sci-fi movie. Pandorum is one of my favorite examples of this. It’s such a simple concept, has decent horror, and has great execution. If you haven’t seen it, go watch that instead. It’s no Dune or Alien, but it’s damn entertaining.
Unfortunately, 65 is not entertaining. Not only did the Beck and Woods combo direct this prehistoric romp, but they also wrote it together. The idea of this is so solid. A precursor human race explores the galaxy and stumbles upon Earth during prehistoric times. They crash land and accidentally seed the planet with human-esque life. All evidence is destroyed by the asteroid that wipes out the dinosaurs. If you survive the dinosaurs, the asteroid will definitely kill you unless you fix your ship. Lots of ways for this to go wrong, and very few ways for it to go right.
This is extra disappointing because the Beck Woods combo also did some writing for A Quiet Place PT I and II. Those two movies are some of the most interesting, unique, and tense experiences I’ve ever had in a theater.
But instead of letting the man vs. wild vs asteroid aspect play out Revenant style, we have this nonsensical family values thing instead. This movie would score a lot higher if it was rated R and focused solely on Adam Driver vs. the dinosaurs. Driver has the chops to do it, the writers or studio felt the need to ram this subplot into what could have been a fun and exciting movie.
With a runtime of barely 90 minutes, I could not wait for this to be over. I was checking my watch about halfway through and left the theater scratching my head. My friends and I left with the same expression on our faces – the one that you make when you have buyer’s remorse.
65 is a movie that I had unrealistic expectations for and ultimately ended up being below my average in basically every sense. Adam Driver deserves better, even if it’s for a paycheck movie. I would not recommend this for movie night unless you’re doing it Mystery Science Theater 3000 style and roasting what you’re watching.
Score: 67/100
Cast and Crew
Directed by: Scott Beck and Bryan Woods
Released: 2023
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Starring: Adam Driver, Ariana Greenblatt, Chloe Coleman, Nika King