65 REVIEW!!! (RECENT RELEASE CATCH UP!!!)

Initial release date: 3/10/2023

Studios: Sony-Columbia/Bron Creative/TSG Entertainment

Plot: After a catastrophic crash on an unknown planet, pilot Mills quickly discovers he’s actually stranded on Earth... 65 million years ago. Now, with only one chance at rescue, Mills and the only other survivor, Koa, must make their way across an unknown terrain riddled with dangerous prehistoric creatures in an epic fight to survive.

Cast

Adam Driver - Mills

Ariana Greenblatt - Koa

Chloe Coleman - Nevine

Nika King - Nevine's Mom

Writers/directors: Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (writers of The Boogeyman and A Quiet Place)

Rated PG-13 for intense sci-fi action and peril, and brief bloody images (93 minutes)

This 2023 sci-fi movie was one of the many releases that has been on my radar for some time. When I first saw the trailer, I thought it looked rather interesting. And, when I finally saw 65 on Netflix, I thought the movie ended up just being okay at best.

The premise of having a human somehow crash landing on a pre-historic Earth when the dinosaurs are still alive is really intriguing. And fair warning, there will be spoilers! When I saw the trailer, you would think that Mills was a space astronaut/traveler that somehow went back in time ... way back. But, he's actually some kind of human alien (or alien human (the movie never explained it) that was around while the dinos were alive.

65 did have some action moments between Mills with the girl and the dinosaurs. Yet, this movie could have used more of that to make it more thrilling and intriguing. The dinosaur action scenes are decent yet there should have been more of them! The CGI that is used for the dinosaurs is really good.

Overall, 65 did have a couple intriguing moments and the ending is just okay. But, this sci-fi flick lacks some tension and thrills.

Here are a few tidbits for 65!

• The warning sound made by the ship's computer just after the crash was first used 70 years ago as the sound effect for the Martian walkers in the 1953 Paramount production of War of the Worlds.

• Koa in the Hawaiian language means "warrior."

• As a Marine, this is the first in Adam Driver's film career where he utilizes his weapons training from his old career.

• Principal photography was expected to begin on November 16, 2020, in New Orleans, eventually beginning by Dec. 7, 2020. Filming also occurred in the Kisatchie National Forest in Vernon Point, Louisiana, in January 2021.

• 65 was released theatrically in the US on March 10, 2023. The movie had previously been scheduled for release, though with longer separation between announcement dates and release dates, for May 13, 2022, April 29, 2022, April 14, 2023, April 28, 2023 and March 17, 2023.

• 65 grossed $32.1 million in the US and Canada, and $28.6 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $60.7 million. As part of Sony's 18 month deal with Netflix, the movie began streaming on the platform on July 8, 2023.