Last year’s Jurassic World Rebirth quickly walked back the franchise’s tantalizing tease of a world overrun with dinosaurs, a missed opportunity that writer-director David Robert Mitchell (It Follows) picks up and runs with in his ode to ’80s Amblin films, The End of Oak Street. Here, family drama merges with action thrills and lighthearted adventure when an entire section of a suburban neighborhood finds itself in an intense bid for survival when it’s transported back to a primitive, inhospitable era teeming with prehistoric wildlife.
The Platt family is already falling apart before the arrival of dinosaurs. Divorce is very much on the table for Greg (Ewan McGregor) and Denise Platt (Anne Hathaway), whose constant fighting has placed an unspoken strain on children Audrey (Maisy Stella) and Brian (Christian Convery). Greg’s conflict-avoidant personality and precarious employment breed friction for the pragmatic Denise, whose writing dreams feel suffocated as a result. The neighbor’s beef with the family dog Starbuck isn’t helping either. The parents are so deep in their marital strife that they don’t notice their kids have issues of their own.
Enter a bizarre anomaly that forces this borderline dysfunctional family to address their problems head-on when they’re abruptly and unwittingly whisked back to an age where humans are at the very bottom of the food chain.
Mitchell, who dedicates this heartwarming and sometimes grim family adventure to his late father, proves an excellent study of ’80s Amblin films. That’s not just reflected in its more accurate period recreation, but in the distinct tonal blend that sees Denise pausing to giggle at mating herbivores one scene and nearly succumbing to catatonic shock at a brutal demise in another. That is to say that the Flowervale neighborhood quickly gets eviserated and ripped apart, often scattering the Platt family across blocks as they evade a constant barrage of attacks, but never explicitly so. Mitchell delivers just enough brutal imagery to leave a nasty mark before cutting away; this is still ultimately a family film (older kids only) after all. Cat lovers beware, though; Oak Street designates these family pets for easy dino snacks.
As for the dinosaurs themselves, Industrial Light & Magic brings an impressive variety to life in stunning detail, adhering to more historically accurate depictions. That means feathered raptors, monstrous titanoboas, and hairy sauropods, to name just a few. Mitchell ensures these predators are terrifying and vicious, but never strays too far from appreciating the novelty of dinosaurs invading the suburbs.
Working against them is the Platt family itself. It’s here where Mitchell frequently tosses logic out the window to force this family further along their journey. While each individual arc holds strong, together the Platts are prone to making plenty of blunders solely meant to place them directly in harm’s way for the impending adrenaline rush. Oak Street, in true Amblin fashion, also injects a far too tidy conclusion that undermines some of the film’s bolder choices. Starbuck, while a very good boy, is nothing more than a plot device that rarely factors into the chaos.
The End of Oak Street is classic summer blockbuster fare with big action and style, but one that doesn’t rise above its Amblin influences or break from convention. Its massive tonal swings from silly romp to dark adventure film with actual death can be as jarring as its logic inconsistencies, but Oak Street compensates with a compelling cast led by an effective Hathaway, no shortage of breathless set pieces, and terrifying dino encounters. Mitchell may struggle at points to fully channel Steven Spielberg, but his dino flick still delivers plenty of summer fun.
The End of Oak Street releases in theaters on August 14.
