Adam Driver's 'End of Oak Street' Replacement Resurfaces to Become a Streaming Hit

Considering Hollywood’s long-standing history with dinosaur-related creature features, from the era of groundbreaking stop-motion visual effects to Jurassic Park's equally revolutionary spectacle, it’s somewhat surprising that more movies haven’t milked the prehistoric critters for all their worth. And they're worth a considerable amount, as Jurassic Park's ongoing blockbuster franchise has proved. Audiences across all demographics maintain their childlike wonder for these extinct beasts; although The End of Oak Street's theatrical profits land closer to a sleeper hit than a summer sensation, it wasn't a box office slouch. Meanwhile, last year’s Jurassic World: Rebirth scored over $860 million at the global box office.

Perhaps the shadow cast by Steven Spielberg’s flawless 1993 masterpiece remains too intimidating to tackle, even though legendary success stories almost always encourage, rather than prevent, a slew of imitators (both excellent and inferior). Whatever the reason behind Hollywood's supply not always meeting the audience's overall demand, the same juxtaposition of intimidating and awe-inspiring that helps the legendary dinos endure also makes them creatively versatile.

Admittedly, the 2023 film 65—currently one of the 10 most-streamed films on Tubi—falls into the aforementioned "inferior" category. However, for viewers with a strong tolerance for silly B-movie entertainment with moments of pleasantly surprising potential scattered throughout, the sci-fi action thriller by writers and directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (A Quiet Place, Heretic) sufficiently gets the job done.

'65's Muddled Execution Drowns Out an Interesting Idea

When an asteroid strikes his vessel, Mills (Adam Driver), an intergalactic pilot from a humanoid civilization on the planet Somaris, crash lands on Cretaceous-period Earth (65 million years ago, to be exact, hence the title). His daughter Nevine (Chloe Coleman) waits at home, sick with an illness Mills and her mother can't afford to treat. He accepted this current job for the pay, despite the risks. Now, the panicked parent is stranded on an unknown world, countless miles from his family, and must evade the jungle environment's paleontological perils alongside an orphaned girl named Koa (Ariana Greenblatt), the wreck's only other survivor. ​​

Logic conveniences and contradictions abound in 65, whereas socioeconomic and ethical critique, profound originality, poignant character arcs, well-defined world-building, and tonal consistency do not. The promise of supremely epic junk food fun never aligns as one hopes, its most intriguing qualities operating on different wavelengths. The movie's 35% Rotten Tomatoes critical score reflects those inadequacies. 65 also failed to make much bang for its buck during its brief stint in theaters, despite having a 64% audience approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Adam Driver and the Production Details Turn ‘65’ From a Crash Landing Into Innocuous Popcorn Fun

That said, in the industry's IP-heavy landscape, it's highly commendable for Beck and Woods to pursue a high-concept standalone. Nothing indicates they envisioned a sequel. And even though squandering 65's potential borders on a cinematic crime, it's somewhat refreshing to discover that just when you think you've seen every variety of elaborate creature mayhem under the Cretaceous sun, a shamelessly fun scenario like "dinosaurs versus a brooding Adam Driver" dangles in front of your eyes. To that end, the production design and competent VFX effectively convey the uneasy hostility of a time ruled by ancient beings who are entirely unknown to Mills, and formidable opponents against his advanced technology and fancy weapons. Earth-based humans don't even exist yet; it's a survival horror power imbalance distinctly in the monsters' favor.

Driver, as reliable as ever, never falters in charismatic intensity or genuine tenderness, suiting both the action hero life and that of the gruff, grieving, reserved dad. Greenblatt brings the right level of frightened but endearing youthful energy to her side of their two-hander adventure. And while one can argue the truncated run time contributes to the thinly drawn characters and unexplained fictional rules, at a crisp 90 minutes, the film doesn’t press its luck by tediously overextending its stay. When the situation calls for a relaxing evening at home with Tubi’s streaming library and a bowl of popcorn, 65 fits the bill.