OUT NOW: 65 (Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, 2023)

After being caught in an asteroid shower, a spaceship crash lands on a strange new world.

Pilot Mills (Adam Driver) and passenger Koa (Ariana Greenblatt) are the sole survivors.

In order to get back home, they will have to go on an epic journey through the wonders and terrors of plane Earth, 65 million years ago…

It is a rarity to see a studio programmer that is not about a superhero.

65 has a fun high concept and goes through its familiar character and story beats with total sincerity. It is reminiscent of Enemy Mine and After Earth - two strangers forced together on an alien world, who have to make a journey to get offworld.

The movie instils confidence by how economically it sets up the characters and the scenario.

In the lead, Adam Driver is solid - He has an inherent stoicism and emotional vulnerability that is perfect for the central character. Ariana Greenblatt is also good as a young girl who Mills has to look after.

Written and directed by Bryan Woods and Scott Beck, the film feels like an old school low budget genre picture. Unlike larger blockbusters, there is a sense of scale and escalation to the setpieces and spectacle.

The film makes judicious use of the dinosaurs - most of the obstacles the characters face are environmental.

The dinosaurs are an added danger, and the film holds off on the major Dino threat until the third act.

The movie makes for a good contrast with another movie I recently reviewed, George Clooney’s The Midnight Sky. That movie has a similar story structure, and centres around a man caring for a child. Where that movie is overlong and self-serious, 65 knows exactly what kind of movie it is. 

While it does its job with efficiency, 65 lacks any specific spark - there is no great scene or character to latch onto. I do not think it will stick in the minds of people who watched it.

But it is nice to watch a movie that is just a solid pass. It is not trying to start a multi-film franchise, or crack the billion dollar mark at the box office. It is just a sci-fi action movie.

If it does not sound worth the price of a ticket, wait until it pops up on a streaming platform.