In a lane that’s been unofficially declared for Steven Spielberg, director David Robert Mitchell challenged the artificial designation with a film chock-full of dinosaurs, science fiction, and terrible decisions.
The Platts appear to be the ideal family of the ’80s, down to the single-family home and the family dog. When an unknown anomaly threatens the entire neighborhood, the Platts have to band together to see the event through. The cast features Anne Hathaway, Ewan McGregor, Christian Convery, Maisy Stella, P.J. Byrne, and Jordan Alexa Davis.
Anne Hathaway is on a tear right now and has yet to be featured in a “miss” this year. Mother Mary, The Devil Wears Prada 2, and The Odyssey preceded this sci-fi survival film, with the latter raking in over a billion dollars globally. Here, Hathaway portrays Denise Platt, a mother of two children and a wife to a husband who has grown distant. While appearing to be the perfect matriarch, she struggles to communicate with Greg (Ewan McGregor), which leads to both of them shutting down emotionally. They misfire because they’re both harboring animosity and desire occupational changes. Their priorities shift after a bright light and strong winds interrupt their sleep to find environmental changes by daybreak.
The film is as serious as it is imaginative. Watching feuding parents act as if their kids are blind to their obvious friction is a trope we’ve all seen before. The difference maker here is dinosaurs. Sure, Hathaway and McGregor stay committed to their marital drama whilst giving us an Amblin-esque presentation, but let’s be serious. Jurassic Park wasn’t a one-off success. People want to see dinosaurs. While some may call this a B-movie, it’s a film that takes itself seriously enough to deserve a watch. If Game of Thrones taught us anything, it’s that all characters are expendable. Bring that knowledge with you to the theatre for this not-too-serious, surprisingly funny dino-flick.
Thanks to Audrey’s (Stella) passion for astronomy, deductive reasoning guided her to theorize that the terror around them began with a wormhole. Audrey may have made a bad decision or two, but nobody’s existence was more painful than Brian’s (Convery). Brother to Audrey and son to Denise and Greg, Brian was very whiny and made terrible decisions. His clingy, obsessive relationship with Starbuck, the family dog, was nauseating. The young man took L’s throughout the film. Armed with a bow and arrow, yet possessing little experience or accuracy, he couldn’t protect himself or anyone else. Then, chasing after Starbuck almost got him killed more than once. But the biggest loss of them all was the girl he had a crush on, Jeannette, took a liking to his sister Audrey instead. The losses he accumulated in the film were part of what made it both cheesy and enjoyable.
Mitchell doesn’t reinvent the wheel here, but at the very least, he created a reason to go to the movies. Dinosaurs running amok in a suburban neighborhood is a direction many wish Jurassic Park would’ve taken. The film weaves between the truly suspenseful and the downright silly without fail. A near-miss of a dino attack could be followed by a neighbor getting pursued by another. There are a lot of scenes that are meme-worthy, but only time will tell how audiences respond online. Made with the Spirit of the films of the ’80s, the film does enough to keep the attention of children while hooking parents with nostalgia.
The End of Oak Street gets a 7.5 out of 10. The film has everything from oddly placed dino sex to Anne Hathaway putting shotgun slugs into an Allosaurus. Those who say this was better than Jurassic Park are off by a mile. That film is a classic and will always be remembered for its well-rounded awesomeness (cast, story, effects, etc.). This film will be forgotten by year’s end, but it’s definitely one to see in the theatre. Is this a family movie? Not so much. The film follows a family’s survival, but this is by no means a “family film.”
The End of Oak Street premieres Friday, August 14.
-Jon Jones
Photos: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
Genre: Sci-fi/Action/Thriller
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins
Trailer: Watch
U.S. Release Date: August 14, 2026