Dinosaurs have been a staple in cinema since the dawn of filmmaking. Whether it be Winsor McCay’s groundbreaking “Gertie the Dinosaur” or Steven Spielberg’s phenomenal “Jurassic Park” (which gave birth to tons of cash-ins, including the infamous “Carnosaur”), these extinct creatures have long been a part of sci-fi cinema. However, it seems like people can’t make another good dinosaur film after “Jurassic Park,” with “65” being a great example of this. 

“65” follows Mills (played by Adam Driver), a pilot from the planet Somaris, who goes on a long-range space expedition to afford to treat his daughter Nevine’s illness. While on this expedition, Mills’ ship is suddenly hit by a plethora of asteroids, resulting in it crash landing on a prehistoric Earth encompassed by dinosaurs. Mills miraculously survives the crash, with the only other survivor being a young girl named Koa (played by Ariana Greenblatt).

Photo of a dinosaur in the “65” movie. (Contributed/screenrant.com)

Driver tries his best with the material he was given to work with, resulting in a performance that isn’t entirely awful but isn’t exactly great either. This is primarily due to a mediocre script co-written by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (who also directed the film).

Beck and Woods, best known for co-writing the screenplay for “A Quiet Place” with John Krasinski, have made a film that does what is quite possibly the worst thing a movie could do, be absolutely boring. While the concept overall could be done well, the execution for “65” is done so poorly. For instance, a few jump scares are featured in the film, which almost feels like a crutch. The characters also don’t feel fully developed, making the viewer not care about them.  

Despite having a short runtime of ninety-three minutes, this was a difficult film to get through – especially with an almost ironic lack of focus on the dinosaurs.  

It seems like a near-impossible task to make a good dinosaur film, with a recent example being a film that was released just a year prior to “65,” “Jurassic World Dominion,” the conclusion to a disappointing trilogy that didn’t go out with a bang, but a whimper. 

Unfortunately, “65” is an incredibly forgettable film that presents the viewer with a tedious experience that feels as long as sixty-five million years. It is easily one of the worst films of 2023. 

“65” is available to purchase on Blu-ray and is also available to stream on Netflix.

Author