“65”isn't exactly hard sci-fi. The serviceable sci-fi plot is only employed as a means to pit advanced humans against prehistoric dinosaurs. It's an action-adventure film, first and foremost, and does provide some decent dinosaur action. Spaceship pilot Mills (Adam Driver) finds himself stranded on a strange planet with another unlikely young survivor, Koa (Alexandra Greenblatt). With his ship in tatters, Mills' only hope is a distant escape pod from another derelict ship that similarly crashed on this planet. But with an impending cataclysmic event hurling towards this alien planet full of ferocious creatures, Mills and Koa will have to work together if they hope to escape in time. 

Most of the sci-fi elements weaved into the story are remarkably dumb. I expected more profound sci-fi concepts from writers Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, who wrote 2018's “A Quiet Place.” Having these characters crash on Earth at the (spoiler?) precise moment of the dinosaur extinction is unnecessarily coincidental. The only plausible element of the story is how every living thing on Earth that encounters Adam Driver develops an immediate thirst for him. 

Sci-fi grievances aside, as a pure popcorn flick, my family and I had a great time. Plenty of jump scares had my kids leaping from their seats. One, in particular, made my daughter audibly scream out. The CGI isn't spectacular, especially when the only truly comparable films are the Jurassic franchise. Jurassic film comparison aside, though, the visual effects are passable, and I never once found them distracting. 

“65” reminded me a lot of Will Smith's “After Earth.” Okay, maybe that's not a ringing endorsement, but if you took “After Earth,” then added Adam Driver and dinosaurs--I think most people would sign up to watch that. I can't say I'm eager to rewatch this one much (if ever), but I really enjoyed my time at the theater. If you don't think about the story too much, you will have a good time, too. No, I probably won’t rewatch this one much (if ever) but I think I got exactly what I was looking for.

— 3 / 5 ⭐