65 Blu Ray Review (Sony Pictures)
65 is a 2023 science fiction thriller film written/produced/directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (Haunt, Nightlight, The Bride Wore Blood, A Quiet Place, and The Boogeyman). It was produced by legendary filmmaker Sam Raimi (Evil Dead franchise, Spider-Man trilogy, Crawl, The Grudge, Ash vs Evil Dead, Darkman trilogy, Don’t Breathe, Hard Target, 30 Days of Night, The Gift, A Simple Plan, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Drag Me to Hell). The budget was $45 million and it grossed $60 million!!!!
On the planet Somaris, pilot Mills (played by: Adam Driver from the Star Wars franchise, House of Gucci, The Last Duel, The Dead Don’t Die, BlacKkKlansman, and Logan Lucky) convinces his wife Alya (played by: Nika King from Euphoria and Greenleaf) that he needs to do a two-year space expedition to earn the cash needed to help treat their daughter Nevine’s (played by: Chloe Coleman from Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, My Spy, and Marry Me) illness. During the journey, his spaceship is hit by a mass of asteroids and crash-lands on an alien planet, which unbeknownst to him is known as Earth 65 million years ago. With his ship damaged beyond repair, he finds that his passengers have been killed and contemplates suicide until he finds a lone survivor, a young girl named Koa (played by: Ariana Greenblatt from Love and Monsters, Avengers: Infinity War, and Awake). Mills sends a distress beacon for rescue and decides to take care of Koa. Mills later discovers a functioning escape shuttle has landed on top of a mountain. To encourage Koa to follow him, Mills lies about her family being atop the mountain, when in reality they perished in the crash. The pair quickly realize the planet is home to dangerous and aggressive alien creatures, which turn out to be Earth’s dinosaurs. They start to finally bond after experiencing this living nightmare together trying to survive it. Can they both make it out alive from this dangerous situation or will they be trapped until their deaths????
65 is definitely one of the most mixed reviewed movies of the year. Directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods have always been talented writers but Haunt was pretty damn good so it opened up more opportunities for the duo. The main problem with 65 is that it starts out a little too slow at first. You end up losing interest and it almost makes you want to give up on it after awhile to be honest. When it picks up, it’s worth staying around for but you have to be patient with 65. It has a very small cast, it’s basically two person features besides a few scenes. The best thing about that situation is that the entire cast kills it here. Adam Driver is a great lead and he proves here that he can pull anything off when it comes to acting. Ariana Greenblatt and Chloe Coleman are two of the best young actresses in the cinema right now, they really elevate this one. 65 has top notch special and visual fx here. Like I said before, the action and suspense takes a minute to show up but it’s solid. I honestly don’t think 65 is as bad as some people are making it out to be but at the same time it’s nothing special. This might be a one time watch for me to be real but it’s worth checking out at least one time. Just don’t go into it with any expectations. I thought it was solid but it could have been much better. The pace and flow hurts 65 for sure, what’s crazy about that is the movie is not even that long!!!!
Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Sony Pictures! This (2.39:1) transfer looks amazing on blu ray, the special and visual fx really stand out here. The locations, production design, and cinematography shine here. It’s one of the best looking movies of the year. It has a few different audio options which includes English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, and Thai: Dolby Digital 5.1 om the disc. 65 is loaded with so many sound options on this home video release. The dialogue is crystal clear, all of the action is elevated, and the music has a killer boost. The audio here is just as good as the picture quality. This is one of the best A/V home video releases of the year. It’s packed with a variety pf subtitle options which includes English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Korean, Mandarin, Mandarin (Traditional), and Thai!!!!
Let’s discuss the special features from Sony Pictures on this disc! A little over 8 minutes of “Deleted Scenes” which includes Red Powder, Look at Me, Koa’s Stick, Mills builds a Fire, and Mills Says Goodbye. These are all decent but I can see why that they didn’t make the final cut here. “Set in Stone: Filmmakers” is a little over 4 minutes. It focuses on the directors here. They are very passionate about this project, they chat about wanting to make 65 for a long time now. “Future of Yesterday: Creating the World of 65” is almost 5 minutes. It’s a nice little inside look into the production of this feature. They go over production design, sound, locations, and so much more here. “Primordial Planet” is a little over 2 minutes.It’s basically a mini documentary glance into Earth of 65 million years ago. “Final Showdown: Concepts to Screen” is a little over 10 minutes of storyboards to finished product comparisons. It’s a cool behind the scenes look into the special and visual fx for 65. It has a variety of “Trailers” for other Sony releases here. It includes a slipcover and a digital copy with this home video release. 4K and DVD versions are also available. It’s everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!
