In Scott Beck and Bryan Woods’ sci-fi action adventure set 65 million years ago, astronaut Mills (Adam Driver) on a two-year expedition from an unspecified planet, crash lands on Earth. He has no idea where he is and there is just one other survivor, nine-year old Koa (Ariana Greenblatt). Their escape module was jettisoned 12-kilometres away and the pair must make their way across an unfamiliar terrain riddled with dangerous prehistoric creatures in order to reach it.
Word-of-mouth was not great for 65, after its release had been cancelled five times over a two-year period, and the early reviews seemed to be largely negative. True enough, it does have some issues. Mills’ daughter died when he was away and his guilt about that, coupled with Koa becoming his surrogate daughter is really clumsily handled. There is a lot of clunky exposition at the start, though it is never explained why a child is on an expedition! There are also some continuity issues as Mills and Koa lose their back packs a couple of times, only for them to re-appear in the next scene, complete with the exact piece of equipment required.
However, it is far from a disaster. The CGI dinosaurs may not be startling for anyone who has seen any of the Jurassic Park/World movies but are pretty convincing. As Mills tries to get to safety, there are a number of exciting set pieces, both when encountering the hostile creatures and when trying to navigate the treacherous conditions. The tension is also increased by the pair having to race against time because the asteroid impact that is going to make the dinosaurs extinct is imminent.
Certainly flawed but also undemanding fun.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10