65

There are many perilous and taxing journeys in film history, from Frodo’s arduous ring delivery service to Han Solo somehow completing the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs despite that being a unit of distance rather than time.

I’ve got to put forward the 15km in Adam Driver’s new film 65 though as nearing the top of the list of gruelling undertakings I’d like to complete the least.

A lean and mean, 90 minute thriller; 65 is just as stressful as Directing duo Bryan Woods and Scott Beck’s previous collaboration A Quiet Place.

It really is just a 15km trek Driver and his young companion Koa (an excellent Ariana Greenblatt creating a duo to rival the current small screen Pedro Pascal-led ‘escort child to safety’ craze) have to complete. Driver’s Mills is an explorer from another planet whose ship crash lands on Earth a couple of days before the dinosaur-killing meteor that ends the Cretaceous period hits. Koa is the only other survivor and they need to reach an escape pod which has rather inconveniently landed that little way away.

In their path? Just the small matter of massive bugs, sinking mud, poisonous berries, dark caves, falling meteors and, oh yeah, lots of dinosaurs!

Thinking Jurassic Park meets A Quiet Place at this stage? Well, that’s exactly what to expect; a concise and tightly-paced film with hardly any fluff and the requisite jump scares and nail biting tension.

Driver totally sells it, leaning into the role and adding gravitas to the exposition and his own tragic backstory. You’ll route for these two and go through the wringer with them.

It ain’t quite Jurassic Park but 65 is an absolutely solid dino-thriller which totally ticks the ‘Friday night cinema experience’ box.

3 stars ***