Adam Driver has had an interesting career thus far. He started in the HBO Series Girls. In the last decade, he has transitioned into a big screen draw because of his role as Kilo Ren in the last three films in the Skywalker Saga. It’s his indie work In films like Paterson, Silence, The Report, and Logan Lucky that have intrigued me and most audiences more though. He has garnered more awards buzz for his independent film work. In 65 he went back to his days of CGI blockbusters.

Mills (Adam Driver) is a happy man with a wife and a daughter. He lets them know he must go on one more mission before settling down with them in their home permanently. The mission is for two years. While in space his ship comes across an unexpected meteor shower. This causes his ship to crash on an uninhabited planet. While there he realizes the planet seems very familiar. Somehow he has traveled back in time. He and the only other survivor must survive a very harsh environment and a myriad of prehistoric beasts before they can escape the planet’s surface.

The production is from Sam Raimi’s company but he didn’t direct it himself. The actual directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods had their hands full with trying to make this planet as authentic as possible considering the time it takes place in. The creatures had to look very scary so the audience would believe they were real. They were definitely very ferocious creatures. Driver and the other character were running for their lives at every turn. This was a very dangerous place and period to be in. It was very harsh and authentic.

The cinematography was very beautiful as well. The various environments from firey areas to wooden areas all looked very good. The production design and visual effects kept me engaged in what I was watching regarding this survival tale. The score was equally a big part of how all of this came together in the end. Part of what makes a film good or bad is how all the various departments come together. In this case, they all worked hand and hand very nicely to make a terrific survival tale.

The Blu-ray itself had a few good special features. A handful of deleted scenes showed a bit of the extended action sequences and harsh environment. A couple of videos had talking heads of the directors explaining how they got our world to look the part of this prehistoric world. And how they used the visual effects to bring their whole story to life. For a new Blu-ray, these were decent extras.  Sony did a nice job on the look and sound of the Blu-ray as well. It’s worth buying this one.

There is just one thing I couldn’t get past and that’s how a ship could travel back in time just by running into a meteor shower. It doesn’t make any sense. I don’t know how the writers can justify this plot device to create the main storyline. Most people don’t have that much suspension of disbelief. I sure as hell don’t. This is the only real downfall I have with this film.

65 packs a lot of CGI action sequences with a beautiful backdrop. The cinematography, visual effects, production design, and score are all very good the director’s made the most of what they were given regarding the story. Which was a bit ridiculous to me. Adam Driver did a very good job with all of his scenes and I can see another big CGI Sci-fi epic action film in his future. This movie is worth buying on blu-ray despite the plot contrivance. 

3 stars

Dan Skip Allen