I love a good monster movie and that is what The End of Oak Street is. It’s not trying to be anything more than just a fun running from dinosaurs film. That doesn’t mean it’s dumb. It rises to the occasion with smart dialogue, real feeling characters (who have decent arcs), and a plot that invests us in our heroes survival. What it doesn’t do is get distracted or weighed down by anything too esoteric. Instead it sets is sights on entertaining and telling a damn good story. That’s what you get in The End.
The End of Oak Street commits to its bit. It goes full into 80s mode, evoking the era without feeling stereotyped and reflecting a sort of family oriented action film that really feels like an 80s movie. In many ways this is a love letter to films like E.T. or Short Circuit; a kind of film that was popular in that era before the seriousness and irony of the 90s took over.
But it doesn’t talk down to its audience or just rely on nostalgia. Instead it invests us in its tale through building the characters (who feel very relatable, imperfect but likeable). The film gets right into its story, and once it gets going doesn’t slow down for much. It even through a few curveballs at us that you might not see coming. Is the plot a bit over the top and sometimes the beats feel a bit convenient? Sure maybe. And I wouldn’t start thinking about the implications of the time loop that the ending creates (a problem with most time travel movies). But if you can just let yourself enjoy the story it will be very satisfying and likely rewatchable.
In an era when we thought we’d seen all the dinosaur movies we needed to, The End of Oak Street ales a pretty compelling case for a new one.
The End of Oak Street
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Ewan McGregor, Maisy Stella, Christian Convery
Writer/Director: David Robert Mitchell
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