The End of Oak Street Review: Suburban Dino Romp Is More Turkey Than T-Rex

The End of Oak Street is a sci-fi survival movie directed by David Robert Mitchell and distributed by J.J. Abrams. Ewan McGregor, Anne Hathaway, Christian Convery, and Maisy Stella are some of the stars of this film that incorporates dinos into an apparently normal suburban family drama. Although the concept is interesting and the director had a success in his previous venture It Follows, this movie fails at incorporating the interesting setting into a compelling plot. Some parts of the movie are definitely funny and visually stunning, but the plot is highly unoriginal.

The End of Oak Street Movie Details

The End of Oak Street Story Overview

The plot is set around Greg Platt (Ewan McGregor) and Denise Platt (Anne Hathaway), an unhappy married couple living together with their kids, Brian (Christian Convery) and Audrey (Maisy Stella) on Oak Street. Greg is facing financial problems and is feeling ashamed about his inability to become the breadwinner of the family. At the same time, Denise works secretly on an autobiographical novel where she describes a woman who plans to leave her family.

The already tense household situation of the family changes dramatically when some strange phenomena start to occur in the vicinity of their street. Unusually warm weather, the appearance of an unknown plant, which had already become extinct, and some traces show that there is something prehistoric in the area. Later, dinosaurs start to appear in the suburbian streets. It seems that a mysterious light ball will help to explain the reason for their appearance in the neighbourhood. The further plot of the film tells about the survival of the family from the dinosaur attack and about solving the existing tension.

The End of Oak Street Review: Big Idea, Limited Impact

Most interesting about The End of Oak Street must be the idea. The inclusion of dinosaurs into an otherwise routine suburban life gives many chances for creating suspense and dark comedy. Especially the first scenes where the family gradually understands that something very wrong is going on around them are rather funny and intriguing.

Furthermore, David Robert Mitchell attempts to tie the invasion of the dinosaurs to the hidden frustrations of the family. In such a way, the creatures can be seen as the embodiment of anger and other emotions growing inside the house of Platt.

However, the film does not do enough to explore its ideas. The plot is strongly reminiscent of Spielberg family adventures but does not carry their emotional intensity. Besides, the danger does not seem really threatening which makes most of the suspense disappear.

Ewan McGregor and Anne Hathaway Lead the Cast

Vulnerability is shown by Ewan McGregor through the character of Greg in the movie, especially during scenes in which he suffers from money troubles and his own position in the family. Anne Hathaway adds an emotional complexity to Denise, a character who doubts about her marriage and future life.

Christian Convery and Maisy Stella become part of the family dynamics and add enough charisma to the young characters to make their reactions realistic during the dinosaur invasion. All the actors show good acting, but the script does not provide enough material for the development of the necessary emotional charge.

Music and Visual Appeal

The setting itself is a nice contrast against the dinosaur characters. Scenes of dinosaurs being seen behind fences, houses, and streets are visually funny at times. Stylised filming techniques are used by Mitchell to give a dream-like feeling to some parts of the film through using shots taken through a split-diopter. The visual aspect of the film is one of the more successful aspects of the film despite the technical success not making up for the lack of tension. Music and historical references have been used to indicate the time period of the late 1980s.

What Are the Weak Points?

• Derivative Story
• Weak Tension
• Uneven Pacing
• Limited Stakes

Is The End of Oak Street Worth Watching?

Watch it if you:

• Enjoy dinosaur movies
• Like sci-fi adventures
• Love suburban mysteries
• Prefer unusual concepts

Skip it if you:

Want intense scares Expect Jurassic-level thrills Need strong emotional drama Prefer original storytelling

Final Verdict

The Beginning of The End of Oak Street is an interesting concept that could have had a lot going for it with its premise about survival of the dinosaurs but falls short. There is much promise in its fusion of suburban family drama and dinosaurs but certain elements of the film prove to be underwhelming.

These include its formulaic narrative approach, lack of danger and urgency in terms of emotional involvement. Both Ewan McGregor and Anne Hathaway try their hardest in the film while the visual aesthetic makes it a little more memorable than it would otherwise have been.

Rating: 2.5/5

Overall, The End of Oak Street is a one-time watch for dinosaur fans, but its big prehistoric premise deserved a much sharper and more exciting execution.