65 movie review ign

You’d think a movie in which Adam Driver fights a bunch of dinosaurs couldn’t possibly be boring, but that’s exactly what “65” is.

This is a movie that would have benefitted from being a whole lot stupider. The big-budget sci-fi flick—which reportedly cost $91 million to make and was featured in a Super Bowl ad—should have embraced its inherent B-movie roots. Instead, it tries to juggle a wild survival story with a poignant family drama, but both elements feel so rushed and underdeveloped that neither ends up registering. There’s nothing to these characters, and the action sequences quickly grow repetitive and wearisome. There’s a jump scare, insistent notes from an overbearing score, some running and screaming, the gnashing of teeth, and maybe an injury before a narrow escape. Over and over and over again.

But the film from the writing-directing team of Scott Beck and Bryan Woods , whose credits include co-writing “ A Quiet Place ” with John Krasinski , offers an intriguingly contradictory premise. It takes place 65 million years ago, but suggests that futuristic civilizations existed back then on planets throughout the universe. On one of them, Driver stars as a space pilot named Mills. He’s about to embark on a two-year exploratory mission in order to afford medical treatment for his ailing daughter ( Chloe Coleman from “ My Spy ,” who’s featured in the film’s prelude and sporadic video snippets).

On the way to his destination, the ship Mills is flying enters an unexpected asteroid field, gets torn to shreds, and crashes. All of the passengers in cryogenic sleep are killed—except one, who just happens to be a girl around the same age as his daughter. Her name is Koa, and she’s played by Ariana Greenblatt . And the planet, which has swampy terrain reminiscent of Dagobah, just happens to be—wait for it—Earth.

“65” requires Mills and Koa to schlep from the wreckage to a mountaintop so they can commandeer the escape pod that’s perched there and fly out before dinosaurs can stomp and chomp on them. The creatures can be startling at times, but at other times they look so cheesy and fake, they’re like the animatronics you’d see at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant. And yet! It almost would have been better—or at least more entertaining—if “65” had leaned harder into that silliness if it had played with the basic ridiculousness of mixing complex technology with the Cretaceous period. They rarely use Mills’ advanced gadgets in any inspired ways within this prehistoric setting. The few attempts at humor fall flat—they mainly consist of Koa making fun of Mills for being uptight—and moments of peril wrap up too tidily for us to luxuriate in their anxiety. 

Worst of all, Driver doesn’t get to ham it up nearly enough here. He’s an actor of great intensity, which can be both thrilling and amusing if he’s amping it up in a knowing way. Imagine him screaming “More!!!” as he’s blasting Luke Skywalker in “ Star Wars: The Last Jedi ,” or punching a wall during an argument in “ Marriage Story .” But the man he plays in “65” is blandly heroic and just seems generally annoyed. Greenblatt, meanwhile, does the best she can with a character we know absolutely nothing about. Koa speaks a language that’s not English, so most of her exchanges with Mills consist of mimicking the basic words he says to her, including “family.” There’s no real bond between them, but neither is there any sort of prickly tension since they’re stuck with each other. “The Last of Us,” this is not.

Beck and Woods offer some clever camerawork here and there, but also some erratic editing choices. And they borrow quite a bit from the “ Jurassic Park ” franchise: a giant footprint in the mud or a dinosaur’s yellow eye leering menacingly through a window. But maybe that’s inevitable at this point. Their film only gets truly enjoyably nutty toward the end, with its climactic combination of a sneaky quicksand patch, a ravenous Tyrannosaurus rex, a well-timed geyser eruption, and a catastrophic asteroid shower. But by then, it’s too late for us—and the planet.

Now in theaters. 

Christy Lemire

Christy Lemire is a longtime film critic who has written for RogerEbert.com since 2013. Before that, she was the film critic for The Associated Press for nearly 15 years and co-hosted the public television series “Ebert Presents At the Movies” opposite Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, with Roger Ebert serving as managing editor. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

• Adam Driver as Mills
• Ariana Greenblatt as Koa
• Chloe Coleman as Nevine
• Nika King as Alya
• Bryan Woods
• Chris Bacon

Cinematographer

• Salvatore Totino

Leave a comment

Now playing.

Speak No Evil (2024)

Saturday Night

The Killer’s Game

Girls Will Be Girls

The 4:30 Movie

Sweetheart Deal

¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!

Latest articles

TIFF 2024: Men of War, Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan & Sara, Ernest Cole: Lost and Found

TIFF 2024: On Swift Horses, Meet the Barbarians, All of You

Natasha Rothwell Finds New Life in Hulu’s Winning “How to Die Alone”

Starz’ “Three Women” Stumbles Through Its Tale of Stifled Female Passion

The best movie reviews, in your inbox.

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

• Upcoming Movies and TV shows
• Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
• Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

• About Rotten Tomatoes®
• Login/signup

Movies in theaters

• Opening This Week
• Top Box Office
• Coming Soon to Theaters
• Certified Fresh Movies

Movies at Home

• Fandango at Home
• Prime Video
• Most Popular Streaming Movies
• What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

• 86% Speak No Evil Link to Speak No Evil
• 77% Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Link to Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
• 95% Rebel Ridge Link to Rebel Ridge

New TV Tonight

• 86% How to Die Alone: Season 1
• 62% Emily in Paris: Season 4
• 63% The Old Man: Season 2
• 18% Three Women: Season 1
• -- Universal Basic Guys: Season 1
• -- My Brilliant Friend: Story of the Lost Child: Season 4
• -- Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy: Season 1
• -- The Circle: Season 7
• -- Jack Whitehall: Fatherhood with My Father: Season 1
• -- In Vogue: The 90s: Season 1

Most Popular TV on RT

• 93% The Penguin: Season 1
• 61% The Perfect Couple: Season 1
• 85% The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Season 2
• 76% Kaos: Season 1
• 100% Slow Horses: Season 4
• 100% Dark Winds: Season 2
• -- Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter: Season 1
• 93% Bad Monkey: Season 1
• Best TV Shows
• Most Popular TV

Certified fresh pick

• 93% The Penguin: Season 1 Link to The Penguin: Season 1
• All-Time Lists
• Binge Guide
• Comics on TV
• Five Favorite Films
• Video Interviews
• Weekend Box Office
• Weekly Ketchup
• What to Watch

Resident Evil Movies In Order: How To Watch The Series Chronologically

50 Best New Horror Movies of 2024

What to Watch: In Theaters and On Streaming

Awards Tour

Transformers One First Reviews: The Best Transformers Movie Yet

The Penguin First Reviews: Colin Farrell’s Wild Performance Makes the Series a Must-Watch

• Trending on RT
• Best Horror Movies
• Top 10 Box Office
• Toronto Film Festival
• Free Movies on YouTube

Where to Watch

Watch 65 with a subscription on Netflix, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

What to Know

Sodden sci-fi that somehow finds a way to bungle Adam Driver fighting dinosaurs, 65 is closer to zero.

Although it's silly, predictable, and sort of slow, 65 's missed opportunities are mostly balanced out by solid survival thriller action.

Critics Reviews

Audience reviews, cast & crew.

Bryan Woods

Adam Driver

Ariana Greenblatt

Chloe Coleman

Screenwriter

Movie Clips

More like this, related movie news.

‘65’ Review: Adam Driver Battles Dinosaurs and Other Stone-Age Story Ideas in Derivative Thriller

'A Quiet Place' writers Scott Beck and Bryan Woods direct a prehistoric adventure that feels like it's 65 million movies in the making.

By Todd Gilchrist

Todd Gilchrist

• Russ Meyer’s Sexploitation Trilogy ‘Vixen,’ ‘Supervixens’ and ‘Beneath the Valley of the Ultravixens’ Set for Blu-ray Release From Severin Films (EXCLUSIVE) 9 hours ago
• ‘Transformers One’ Review: Animated Origin Story Reveals There’s More to the Series’ Central Conflict Than Meets the Eye 1 day ago
• Ewan McGregor Looks Back on ‘Trainspotting,’ ‘Big Fish’ and 25 Years as Obi-Wan Kenobi: ‘I Hope We Get a Chance to Do Another One’ 2 days ago

Related Stories

Sony’s ‘Concord’ Shutdown an Indictment of Live-Service Gaming

'Scare Tactics' Reboot From Jordan Peele Sets October Premiere Date

Popular on variety.

Identifying the distant remains of the rest of their ship using a handful of relics from his technologically advanced culture, Mills and Koa make a difficult trek across terrain filled with quicksand, steam-filled geysers, life-threatening flora and a variety of dinosaur species. But even as they overcome each new hazard, a much bigger one appears: the asteroid that felled their ship is on a collision course with Earth. They soon find themselves in a race against the clock to get to the ship’s escape pod before either dying in a planet-leveling fireball or being eaten by a carnivorous reptile.

But those quiet moments also give the audience to wonder: so a humanlike species from another planet, armed with the technology for interstellar travel (not to mention laser guns and 3D GPS) came to Earth 65 million years ago, long before humankind existed — and the point is “just” that they’re trying to get back home? Seems like a long way to travel to go nowhere particularly meaningful.

That said, Beck and Woods make dinosaurs frightening for the first time in decades, thanks to some classic misdirection and staging that involves a lot of shadows to make the audience say “nope” when the characters decide to plumb further into them. If their filmmaking isn’t particularly inventive, the duo approach it with the same kind of sturdy proficiency they use when borrowing scenes or genre boilerplate to tell their stories. “A Quiet Place” worked because it gently tweaked a lot of familiar formulas and then director John Krasinski executed the whole thing with a workmanlike attention to detail; “65” doesn’t have the same core emotionality holding it together (this family is fractured, not fighting to stay together), but behind the cameras Beck and Woods merely service their ideas rather than strengthening them from the page.

At just 93 minutes, ”65” feels pleasantly diverting in competition with a glut of sequels that include “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” “Creed III,” “Scream VI” and “John Wick Chapter 4” — not that anything in it is all that original. Then again, perhaps the reason it still falls short is because the idea of a standalone story seems too good to be true in an era of cinematic universes, especially given the fact that buried in its premise, before the title card even, is the idea there’s more than just our own to explore.

In which case, the best thing for “65” would be that no more installments follow, but if it proves a hit, audiences couldn’t possibly be that lucky. Who were Mills’ other passengers? Why was he transporting them? In what way do his “people” relate, genetically, or otherwise, to ordinary humans? These are all questions that you can see Sony salivating at the prospect of answering in a sequel or spinoff, but they all feel more intriguing without some sort of canonical answer. In which case, “65” is a film whose past feels like it was 65 million movies in the making, and its future depends on a several hundred millions in box office revenue. They best way to enjoy it is to let go of all that and be present.

Reviewed at Thalberg Screening Room, Los Angeles, March 9, 2023. MPA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 93 MIN.

• Production: A Sony release of Columbia Pictures presentation of a Bron Creative, Raimi Prods., Beck Woods production. Producers: Sam Raimi, Deborah Liebling, Zainab Azizi, Scott Beck, Bryan Woods. Executive producers: Maryann Brandon, Doug Merrifield, Jason Cloth, Aaron L. Gilbert.
• Crew: Directors, writers: Scott Beck & Bryan Woods. Camera: Salvatore Totino. Editors: Josh Schaeffer, Jane Tones. Music: Chris Bacon
• With: Adam Driver, Ariana Greenblatt, Chloe Coleman.

More from Variety

‘The Goonies 2’ Is ‘Not Real,’ Says Cast Member Martha Plimpton Amid Rumors: ‘There’s No Script, No One Attached and Spielberg Is Not Directing’

‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ Success Doesn’t Downplay Risky Reboots Coming to Theaters

NewFest’s 2024 Slate Includes ‘A Nice Indian Boy,’ ‘Emilia Pérez’ and a John Waters Threesome (EXCLUSIVE)

Eminem Doubles Down on Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Connection to Tupac and Biggie Murders on New Song

How Much Should AI Giants Pay Hollywood? What Insiders Say Has Stalled Any Licensing Deals

Dylan River’s Toronto Series ‘Thou Shalt Not Steal’ Explores Australia’s Dark History With Humor: ‘If You’re Preaching to the Converted, How Are You Educating?’ (EXCLUSIVE)

More from our brands, bose’s bestselling noise-cancelling earbuds are under $200 for a limited time.

Art Basel Miami Beach Opens with a Bang

Tagovailoa’s Concussion History Clouds Contract Guarantees

The Best Loofahs and Body Scrubbers, According to Dermatologists

Law & Order: OC Adds Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio to Season 5 Cast — What’s Her Connection to Stabler?

65 (United States, 2023)

If all you’re looking for out of a movie is Adam Driver running around in a jungle shooting dinosaurs while protecting a young girl, 65 delivers in spades. If you’re hoping for something more complex, either in terms of character development, background narrative, or world-building, the movie has neither the time nor the patience to accommodate. The dino special effects are adequate for the job (better than in 1993’s Jurassic Park but inferior to those in the third installment of the Jurassic World series ) and Driver appears committed to the work. The running length is a svelte 93 minutes, meaning that 65 isn’t around long enough to wear out its welcome. By keeping its goals limited, it’s able to deliver what it promises, and that stands for something. I’ll admit I was more entertained by this high-concept sci-fi adventure than half the films I have seen thus far in 2023.

In their directorial debut, Scott Beck & Bryan Woods (the writers of A Quiet Place ) keep it simple. The plot could be the template for a video game: get the hero from Point A to Point B without dying. Along the way, there are various impediments that have to be overcome: rockslides, steam geysers, quicksand, and (of) course dinosaurs. 65 mixes in an Aliens - inspired subplot about a lone, grieving adult “adopting” and orphaned young girl. At no point, however, does Adam Driver say to any of the dinosaurs, “Get away from her, you bitch !”

One could argue that 65 is real throw-back – all the way back to the 1920s and 1930s, when monster movies could enthrall and amaze. The first two-thirds of King Kong , after all, focused on explorers wandering around a prehistoric jungle and encountering dinosaurs. 65 has all the advantages of modern technology but it’s not significantly more sophisticated than the movies of Willis O’Brien. This is the kind of production that provides a couple of memorable moments (the T-Rex “reveal,” which is spoiled by the trailers, being the most notable) but somehow seems smaller than it should. Maybe that’s because we have been trained to expect that a menagerie like this is appropriate only for epics while the most lofty goal 65 can claim is being a slickly-made B movie.

Comments Add Comment

• Interstellar (2014)
• Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)
• Aliens (1986)
• Howard the Duck (1986)
• After Earth (2013)
• Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983)
• Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
• This Is Where I Leave You (2014)
• Silence (2016)
• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
• What If (2014)
• While We're Young (2015)
• (There are no more better movies of Ariana Greenblatt)
• Borderlands (2024)
• Awake (2021)
• Barbie (2023)

65 is a Lean, Mean Dino Thriller as Straightforward as Its Title

Or: The tale of two characters trying to coolly walk away from our planet’s biggest explosion.

Alfred Hitchcock emphasized film as a visual medium above all else — a teaching that has developed a nearly cult-like reverence. 65 , the newest film from writer-director duo Scott Beck and Bryan Woods , is a genre apart from the Master of Suspense but clearly worships from that same church. The Adam Driver-starring thriller is a lean, mean exercise in sci-fi suspense set far in our planetary past (if only by sheer misadventure).

Mills (Adam Driver) is a pilot shepherding a large group of spacebound passengers when the trip goes awry, ripping the ship apart and scattering it across an unknown planet. As it turns out, two passengers survive — Mills and a young woman named Koa (Ariana Greenblatt). We soon discover that the pair landed on Mesozoic-era Earth (unbeknownst to them) with only one possibility of escape. Beside the sci-fi technology and the existence of violent dinosaurs, at its core, 65 is a simple survival tale about a makeshift family : a pilot and young girl set against a monstrous world, with the ticking clock of a comet propelling their trek forward.

In some ways, 65 resembles a variety of media that have come before. The Jurassic Park/World comparisons are inevitable, with slices of the narrative feeling kin to such sci-fi classics. But just because the idea is familiar doesn’t mean it’s a poorly conceived or executed one. Part of the familiarity of 65 lies in the fact that the concept is so good that it honestly should have been made a half-dozen times before. The setting allows our protagonists to be set in a world emotionally familiar, yet unrecognizable and thoroughly hostile.

Though Driver is well known for his skill at outburst-laden roles (think of all those viral gifs of Kylo Ren smashing consoles or Charlie Barber hitting a wall), 65 ably showcases his skill at emotional subtlety. Mills and Koa are on board the same ship, but they don’t speak the same language and the pair repeatedly struggle to build effective communication and emotional trust in a hostile world. It adds well to the isolation of both, and gives Driver a chance to showcase his skills at a non-verbal performance. Similarly, Greenblatt spends the role speaking a language not of this planet, effectively only having subtle tools to emote and transmit her character’s meanings. She gives a wonderful performance under those difficult conditions.

Adam Driver battles dinosaurs in a tight sci-fi thriller that could’ve used a little more meat.

Everything about 65 is tight. There’s little inessential in the narrative, no surplus dialogue (to whom would our protagonists speak?), and only plot-driven exposition. The shot choice is well designed to build tension, carefully using the frame to hide the danger until it’s too late. The often-tight frame keeps the focus on our protagonists more often than not, which does well to enhance the film’s building suspense. That said, there are times where wider shots would have helped situate the viewer, or slightly longer cuts in a given scene would have let the tension linger. At times, it’s too lean, but that’s a preferable vice in a world full of overlong films stretching over 2.5 hours.

The dinosaurs look good on screen and are used well, if somewhat sparsely. The narrative promises survival against dinos and largely delivers, though the emergent emotional father-daughter narrative and the ticking clock of the comet are unexpectedly a larger focus. Both elements work, but with the dinosaurs being a key element of the promised story, one can’t help but desire a little more high-stakes action from our planet’s former rulers.

65 is not without its curious plot contrivances, however. There are times when Koa has vast leaps in her understanding of a situation or language, and knows precisely what to do when it’s oddly convenient. The premise of the ship crashing on Earth exactly when The Comet is going to hit is a fun way to showcase one of Earth’s most monumental eras, but it’s also a tad convenient that the protagonists hit that specific time period out of Earth’s whole billion-year history. Overall, however, 65 ’s lean narrative is a virtue, generating a tight story that works well.

The film isn’t exactly the dinosaur extravaganza one might be expecting, though that’s present to a relevant degree. At its core, the film is a tight story focusing on the growing familial relationship between a pair of protagonists who have no one else, in a world full of monsters. The performances are strong, the script is lean and largely successful, the dinosaurs look good, and it sticks the landing. It could strangely enough use a slightly longer runtime, but 65 remains a tight sci-fi thriller, and one worth an audience’s time.

65 opens in theaters on March 10.

• Science Fiction

Common Sense Media

Movie & TV reviews for parents

• For Parents
• For Educators
• Our Work and Impact

Or browse by category:

• Movie Reviews
• Best Movie Lists
• Best Movies on Netflix, Disney+, and More

Common Sense Selections for Movies

50 Modern Movies All Kids Should Watch Before They're 12

• Best TV Lists
• Best TV Shows on Netflix, Disney+, and More
• Common Sense Selections for TV
• Video Reviews of TV Shows

Best Kids' Shows on Disney+

Best Kids' TV Shows on Netflix

• Book Reviews
• Best Book Lists
• Common Sense Selections for Books

8 Tips for Getting Kids Hooked on Books

50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They're 12

• Game Reviews
• Best Game Lists

Common Sense Selections for Games

• Video Reviews of Games

Nintendo Switch Games for Family Fun

• Podcast Reviews
• Best Podcast Lists

Common Sense Selections for Podcasts

Parents' Guide to Podcasts

• App Reviews
• Best App Lists

Social Networking for Teens

Gun-Free Action Game Apps

Reviews for AI Apps and Tools

• YouTube Channel Reviews
• YouTube Kids Channels by Topic

Parents' Ultimate Guide to YouTube Kids

YouTube Kids Channels for Gamers

• Preschoolers (2-4)
• Little Kids (5-7)
• Big Kids (8-9)
• Pre-Teens (10-12)
• Teens (13+)
• Screen Time
• Social Media
• Online Safety
• Identity and Community

How to Help Kids Build Character Strengths with Quality Media

• Family Tech Planners
• Digital Skills
• All Articles
• Latino Culture
• Black Voices
• Asian Stories
• Native Narratives
• LGBTQ+ Pride
• Best of Diverse Representation List

Multicultural Books

YouTube Channels with Diverse Representations

Podcasts with Diverse Characters and Stories

• Common Sense Says
• Parents Say 7 Reviews
• Kids Say 10 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Violent, by-the-numbers sci-fi/dinosaur movie has gory bits.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that 65 is a sci-fi/dinosaur movie about a space traveler named Mills (Adam Driver) who crash-lands on primitive Earth and must battle dinosaurs to save his one surviving passenger, Koa (Ariana Greenblatt). Expect intense violence: Characters die (their bodies are shown), there's…

Why Age 14+?

Many are said to have died in cryosleep during crash-landing. Dead bodies lie in

A few uses of "s--t." One use of "damn." A use of "oh God" while in pain.

Any Positive Content?

Both characters are strong and resourceful; they take turns helping each other o

Four characters: Mills (Adam Driver), a White man, is the central character. You

Encourages selflessness: One character considers giving up until he discovers th

Violence & Scariness

Many are said to have died in cryosleep during crash-landing. Dead bodies lie in a swamp. Girl in peril. Main character shoots laser-like space gun. Splattering dinosaur blood. Explosions. Main character pulls metal shard out of bloody wound. Character attacked by small dinosaur; he bashes it to death with gun butt. Main character falls out of tree; painfully snapping dislocated shoulder back into place. Dinosaur stabbed with pointed tusk. Quicksand. Dinosaur corpse covered in blood and maggots. Burned, gory dinosaur corpse. Red-tinted water sloshing on ship. Fiery crash-landing. Dinosaurs attack and eat one another. Asteroids colliding with ship. Main character briefly considers death by suicide.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Role Models

Both characters are strong and resourceful; they take turns helping each other out of scrapes, working to overcome difficult odds.

Diverse Representations

Four characters: Mills (Adam Driver), a White man, is the central character. Young Koa is played by Ariana Greenblatt, who is of Puerto Rican heritage. Mills' wife (seen in prologue), played by Nika King, is Black. Their mixed-race daughter, Nevine, is played by Chloe Coleman, who is of African, Eastern European, and English descent. Mills' insistence on Koa learning English -- rather than trying to understand her language -- supports dominant power structures.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Positive Messages

Encourages selflessness: One character considers giving up until he discovers that there's another person to think about.

Parents need to know that 65 is a sci-fi/dinosaur movie about a space traveler named Mills ( Adam Driver ) who crash-lands on primitive Earth and must battle dinosaurs to save his one surviving passenger, Koa ( Ariana Greenblatt ). Expect intense violence: Characters die (their bodies are shown), there's splattering dinosaur blood/gore, and Mills pulls a shard of metal out of his own bloody wound. Mills also shoots a space-laser gun at dinosaurs and bashes a small dinosaur to death with the butt of his gun. There are also explosions and falls from high places, and a character briefly considers death by suicide. A girl is sometimes in peril. Language includes a few uses of "s--t," plus "damn" and "oh God." To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Parent and Kid Reviews

• Parents say (7)
• Kids say (10)

Based on 7 parent reviews

Dinosaurs look awesome

Decent popcorn flick but huge missed opportunity, what's the story.

In 65, astronaut Mills ( Adam Driver ), from the planet Somaris, agrees to a two-year trip through space, since the increased pay will help cover his daughter's medical expenses. Unfortunately, while he's in cryosleep, the ship is pelted with asteroids and forced to make a crash landing. Only Mills and young Koa ( Ariana Greenblatt ) survive. But somehow, they've ended up on Earth, 65 million years ago, when the dinosaurs roamed. Now they must hike 15 kilometers across a deadly landscape to find the only remaining escape pod. And there's another problem: The asteroid that hit their ship was only a small one.

Is It Any Good?

While this sci-fi/dinosaur movie is competently made, it really only has one good idea, and it doesn't do much with it. The rest is generic and familiar and fails to generate much suspense or emotion. The first thing viewers must accept in 65 is that there's another planet that has inhabitants who speak English and act just like Earth humans. After the crash, we get all the usual CGI dinosaur attacks and jump scares -- all very similar to what we've seen before in the many Jurassic Park / World movies. The screenplay -- following a beat-by-beat, three-act formula -- sets up all the elements it's going to use during the final payoff, and it's all noticeable because there's not much else to think about. But perhaps the oddest touch in this movie is the decision to have Koa speak a different language (she's from a different "district" than Mills). This leads to many scenes of Mills trying to force Koa to learn English words -- which she gamely does -- rather than him trying to understand what she's saying. It's all a bit of a drag, like Land of the Lost with the fun taken out. Ultimately, 65 leaves us feeling dino-sore.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about 65 's violence . How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?

How does the movie handle the difference in the languages that the characters speak? How does the language barrier affect the story?

How does the movie deal with grief?

Movie Details

• In theaters : March 10, 2023
• On DVD or streaming : May 2, 2023
• Cast : Adam Driver , Ariana Greenblatt , Chloe Coleman
• Directors : Scott Beck , Bryan Woods
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studios : Sony Pictures , Columbia Pictures
• Genre : Action/Adventure
• Topics : Dinosaurs
• Run time : 93 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : intense sci-fi action and peril, and brief bloody images
• Last updated : June 18, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

What to watch next.

Jurassic Park

Kong: Skull Island

Jurassic World

Sci-Fi Movies

Science fiction tv, related topics.

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

• Movies & TV
• Big on the Internet
• About Us & Contact

REVIEW: ’65’ Is Adam Driver With a Gun Shooting Dinosaurs and That Rules

When it comes to movies with premises that seem outlandish, the best way to go about it is to just lean into the absurd and have some fun with it, and that’s what 65 does. A movie where Adam Driver headshots a T. Rex, 65 knows what it is about and has fun with it. When you think about a movie that just has an alien man shooting dinosaurs, you should immediately know that what you’re going to get is an action movie that isn’t changing the world, but the reason 65 works is that we love to see the charm of Adam Driver onscreen.

When the first trailers for the movie dropped, everyone was in simply because the movie had Adam Driver fighting dinosaurs, and I’m happy to report that yes, that’s what this movie is. Mills (Driver) is an explorer from another planet who is bringing a convoy back to their home planet. While on the quest there, the ship is hit by an unidentified astroid belt that sends them crashing into what is Earth, back when dinosaurs roamed the planet.

Thinking he’s alone, Mills is ready to give up when he finds Koa (Ariana Greenblatt) still alive from the crash. It is then that his fight is reignited to get off this planet and Koa home, but that does mean fighting off dinosaurs with nothing but his space gun and a bit of hope. What is so great about this movie is that it is exactly what you think it would be, just mixed in with a little heart.

Mills goes on this two-year mission to make money to help his sick daughter Nevine (Chloe Coleman). He leaves everyone he loves behind, and seeing his push to get Koa home does give weight to the story.

But he really does shoot a dinosaur

Now, don’t get me wrong; the film does have a lot of shooting at dinosaurs. Written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, 65 finds a way of explaining all the technology of Mills and his team with such an ease. We don’t really need to know how all the ships function; we have the information we need and can run with it from there. Mills’ gun that he uses throughout the movie is not a typical gun we’re used to, but we see it enough through the movie that, by the end, we can figure out what’s wrong with it alongside him.

And yes, he really does do a headshot to a T. Rex and then uses a geyser to help him run away. It’s weird and out there but also just a fun time. Often, I think movies like this get discounted because they are just sci-fi/action movies and not pushing the envelope, but the reason I like 65 so much is because it plays to Adam Drivers’ strengths while giving us another found family situation between Mills and Koa.

Their relationship is one that makes you care about whether or not they survive Earth, as meteors are falling around them and dinosaurs are trying to kill them. As a whole, the movie is more frightening than something like we’ve come to know with Jurassic Park because the dinosaurs are jumping out and screaming throughout the movie.

But it’s a fun ride, and who doesn’t love a good Adam Driver movie? 65 is in theaters on March 10.

(featured image: Sony Pictures)

• by Simon Thompson
• The Playlist

Similar News

• by Arthur S. Poe
• Comic Basics

• Fiction Horizon

• by Rebecca Murray
• Showbiz Junkies

Adam Driver (I)

• by Paul Sheehan

• by Kulwant Singh
• Cinema Blind

• by Jack Dunn
• Variety Film + TV

• by Emily Bennett
• Love Horror

• ComicBookMovie.com

More to explore

Recently viewed.

65 - Everything You Need To Know

There's one thing everyone agrees on — dinosaurs are awesome . Who doesn't love a big, scaly, prehistoric beast? But for all the love these terrible lizards get, there aren't a whole lot of dinosaur movies. Sure, they've popped up here and there, showing up in Hollywood classics like "King Kong" and bizarre curios like "Tammy and the T-Rex." However, in recent years, the dinosaur market has been almost exclusively cornered by the "Jurassic Park" series, but a challenger to the dino throne emerged on March 10, 2023.

That's when "65" hit theaters, offering audiences a new take on these oversized reptiles. In a world of ever-growing IP, remakes, and reboots, this sci-fi flick offered a fresh take on an old concept, with some serious talent working both in front of the camera and behind the scenes. But if you've got questions about this Cretaceous caper, we've got answers. From what critics think about the flick to who wrote and directed this clash of man and monsters, read on for everything you need to know about "65."

What is the plot of 65?

With his daughter dying of an illness, Commander Mills decides to leave his home planet and take a two-year journey into space in the hopes of earning enough money to save his kid's life. Unfortunately, the ship he's piloting — which is full of cryo-sleeping passengers — accidentally hits an asteroid and crash-lands on a strange planet. In the wreckage, he manages to find one survivor, a young girl named Koa, and together, they're forced to survive in this alien world.

Of course, while it might be alien to Mills, it's not alien to us. As it turns out, this is Earth ... 65 million years ago. And yes, that means things get incredibly complicated for our heroes when hungry dinosaurs arrive on the scene. It also doesn't help that they've landed on Earth at a very, um, impactful point in history. With the clock ticking and the dinosaurs closing in, Mills and Koa have just one chance to escape, and they'll have to make a dangerous journey if they want to get off this rock alive.

Who stars in 65?

Co-starring alongside a bunch of toothy reptiles,  we've got Adam Driver — a man who's no stranger to sci-fi. After playing in the acclaimed HBO series "Girls," Driver found worldwide stardom in the "Star Wars" sequel trilogy, portraying the tortured Kylo Ren, a man torn between the light and the dark side of the Force. In addition to wielding a lightsaber onscreen, Driver has also starred in projects like "Marriage Story," "The Last Duel," and "House of Gucci." In "65," he's playing the part of Commander Mills, who must protect a young girl in a world full of flesh-hungry reptiles.

So who portrays his young ward? Well, the part of Koa is played by Ariana Greenblatt, who's no stranger to surviving perilous situations. The young actress stole the show in "Love & Monsters" as Minnow, a young girl who can more than handle herself in a world full of massive mutant creatures. You'll also recognize Greenblatt as young Gamora from "Avengers: Infinity War," Daphne Diaz from "Stuck in the Middle," and the voice of Tabitha from the "Boss Baby" franchise.

Driver and Greenblatt are also joined by Chloe Coleman, who starred alongside Dave Bautista in the family flick "My Spy," Karen Gillan in the action thriller "Gunpowder Milkshake," and both Owen Wilson and Jennifer Lopez in "Marry Me." Rounding out the cast, "65" also features Nika King, who's most famous for playing Zendaya's mother, Leslie Bennett, in HBO's "Euphoria."

Who wrote and directed 65?

If you don't already know the names Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, you should probably memorize them real quick. It seems these two are becoming real-deal power players in Hollywood, especially when it comes to sci-fi and horror films. This dynamic duo is responsible for writing and directing "65," but before that, they were busy collaborating on films like 2019's "Haunt" (a slasher flick set in a haunted house) and 2015's "Nightlight" (a supernatural set-in-the-woods thriller). However, they really punched their ticket to success by writing one of the most dynamic genre scripts in recent memory: "A Quiet Place." They're also responsible for the adaptation of Stephen King's "The Boogeyman," so one thing is for sure about these two — they know how to bring some serious thrills.

Who produced 65?

Before turning their attention to Adam Driver's dino adventure, Scott Beck and Bryan Woods were hired to work on Quibi's (remember Quibi?) horror anthology series "50 States of Fright." However, they weren't alone on the project, and one of their fellow "50 States" collaborators joined "65" and gave the film some serious cred.

Alongside Deborah Liebling and Zainab Azizi, the legendary Sam Raimi  served as a producer on "65." If you're at all familiar with horror movies or superhero flicks, then Raimi needs no introduction. He burst onto the scene with the "Evil Dead" franchise and helped lay out the blueprint for future Marvel flicks by helming the three Tobey Maguire "Spider-Man" movies. In addition to directing films like "Drag Me to Hell," "The Quick and the Dead," and "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," Raimi has produced quite a few winners, including "Crawl," "Nightbooks," "Don't Breathe," and "30 Days of Night." 

How did critics and audiences respond to 65?

The premise of "65" sounds awesome — humans crash-land on Earth and have to fight dinosaurs. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like critics were impressed by what "65" had to offer, with most of them wishing the film would just go extinct. The film currently has a terrible 37% critics' rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 78 reviews.

Our own Reuben Baron wasn't thrilled with the movie , writing, "'65' is dreadfully uncreative beyond the basic premise, utilizing cliched character types we've seen handled way more compellingly nearly everywhere else." David Fear of Rolling Stone agreed that "65" was majorly lacking, saying, "It's not schlocky enough to be so-bad-it's-good and nowhere near good enough to be taken even a tiny bit seriously."

Audiences, on the other hand, are a little more fond of the dinosaurian adventure. At the time of this writing, the film has a 63% approval rating based on 500+ reviews. Perhaps their feelings are best summed up by critic Maria Lattila of WhyNow, who wrote, "Is '65' good? Debatable. Is '65' enjoyable? Absolutely. The middle-budget film has disappeared, but '65' is an ambitious, entertaining example of why it should be returned."

How did 65 perform at the box office?

While average moviegoers on Rotten Tomatoes seem to like "65," its audience approval score of 63% doesn't line up with the box office numbers. On its opening weekend, the dinosaur sci-fi film earned just $12.3 million at the domestic box office. If we add in the international profits, that brings us to a total of $20 million — not great when your reported production budget is $44.5 million.

So why the massive flop? It could be partly thanks to the negative critical reviews. The film was also fighting some serious competition. It opened against "Scream 6," which took the #1 spot at the box office. Plus, there was leftover competition from the weekend before with "Creed III," which punched its way to the #2 spot, leaving "65" in third. In other words, it was a dino-sorry opening weekend.

What is 65 rated?

As is par for the course with most sci-fi blockbusters, "65" is rated PG-13. If you're worried about little ones, there's no sex or nudity, and the language here is about what you'd expect from a more serious Marvel movie. "65" earns its PG-13 largely thanks to the dinosaurs, which are pretty scary and very hungry. There's quite a bit of blood (but not excessive), plenty of attacks by those terrible lizards, and more than a few wounds earned in battle. Our hero has to get pretty violent to fight off these creatures, but honestly, nothing ever strays into R-rated territory.