Filmmakers release movies about dinosaurs almost regularly. The success of “Jurassic Park” should be blamed for this, and in a more modern way, “Jurassic World”. However, interestingly, these ancient creatures are almost never used. The film “65” with Adam Driver tries to combine dinosaurs with motifs of space science fiction. We tell you how successful this combination turned out to be.
65
Genre science fiction action
Directed by Scott Beck, Brian Woods
Starring Adam Driver, Ariana Greenblatt, Chloe Coleman, Nika Kang
Premiere cinemas
Release year 2023
IMDb site
Pilot Mills (Adam Driver) has long been engaged in interstellar transportation. However, his new task stands out from the others. The hero needs to leave his home planet of Somaris for two years. However, Mills accepts the task anyway in order to earn money for the treatment of his daughter (Chloe Coleman).
The already unusual mission becomes even more difficult when Mills’ ship crashes. Now he, together with the only survivor, the girl Koa (Ariana Greenblatt), must reach the rescue shuttle and cope with all the dangers.
Questions about the film arise already at the stage of its title. After all, “65” is not a super-attractive naming. However, its essence quickly becomes clear. The authors reveal one of the main plot twists almost at the very beginning.
The reason for such a decision is prosaic. In October 2021, there was a leak that revealed many of the highlights of “65”. But the creators of the film kept all the details a secret, luring people only with the concept of “Adam Driver vs. an unknown danger.” Having lost the element of surprise, the authors decided to slightly shuffle the available key points of “65” in order to preserve at least some freshness.
We will never know what “65” would have been like if its secrets had not been leaked in advance. But the final result was generally not bad. Yes, somewhat primitive and banal. But it definitely does not cause rejection of cinema.
In fact, the best advice you can give in this situation is to not read, watch or listen to anything about “65”. The very feeling of discovery should be considered the main key element of cinema. In addition, this feeling connects the audience with the main character, who found himself in a non-standard situation on a completely foreign planet.
After all, otherwise “65” turned out to be a fresh film. Not annoying, but not enthusiastic either. And it seems that you do not regret the time spent on it, but there is no special reason to choose this particular one from a huge number of films.
Take, for example, local science fiction designs. The equipment and equipment that Mills works with have a nice and futuristic look. That is, without excessive clumsiness and cardboardness, just the opposite – very strict and heavy, which makes it akin to military equipment. In some ways, the fantastic designs even evoke memories of the Mass Effect series.
But all local futurism does not play any supernatural role in history. It has a nice look, but nothing more. “Cute looking, but not much else” is pretty much everything in this movie. Which, again, isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s kind of pointless.
Something similar can be said about the other components of “65”. The relationship between Mills and Koa develops interestingly and with its share of tension, but in a straight line and as if according to long-researched patterns. The language barrier between the main characters, due to which they cannot directly communicate with each other, does not save the situation.
Clashes with dinosaurs in the film may cause their share of admiration, but there is no ingenuity in them.
However, there is also an interesting point here. Adam Driver once served in the military as a Marine in the United States. And in “65” he demonstrates quite well the skills acquired during this period of his life.
Visually and from the point of view of sound, everything turned out decently in “65”. At least at the level of industrial standards. Only the authors did not try to go beyond the usual film tropes and do something original. It seems as if they planned to keep the film solely on the element of surprise.
If you don’t feel any expectations from a work of art, then it is more likely to be more enjoyable. And from this point of view, “65” really turns out to be quite a pleasant sight. Without unnecessary maneuvers, with a clear dramatic storyline and high-quality action scenes. But still, everything is done without taste and feels passable. No amount of nods to 2001 A Space Odyssey will save the day either.
Pros: interesting futuristic designs; good pace of the story and competent construction of the plot; the technical component of the film Cons: the general lack of ideas of each element; formulaic script, dialogues and situations; destroyed and unrealized element of suspense from the plot that could have made the film better Conclusion:
“65” is far from the worst movie in the world. Maybe it will even be good for someone. But in the formula “Adam Driver + dinosaurs on a distant planet” somewhere, all hopes for something more or less normal were lost. Therefore, in the end, we got a pleasant movie, which you don’t want to think about after the end of the credits
