Let’s get this out of the way: the first ten minutes of The End of Oak Street are a little rough. Cringe dialogue. Forced drama. The introduction of a sheepish teenage boy who you just know is going to do something stupid like go after his dog when everyone outside is getting nom-nom’d by dinosaurs. It’s clear from minute one that David Robert Mitchell’s screenplay won’t win awards.
And yet The End of Oak Street is awesome anyway.
Ridiculous and ridiculously fun, The End of Oak Street is arguably the best dinosaur movie since the original Jurassic Park. Unrestrained by the trappings of franchisedom, Mitchell unleashes a tight, fast-paced thriller that isn’t much concerned about science or topping what has come before: it’s mindless entertainment that has a straightforward plot—family attempts to survive dinosaur teeth after their neighborhood is somehow transported to prehistoric times—and a desire to not take itself too seriously (while never falling into camp, either).
Equally exciting, especially for this critic who watches 150 movies in a year despite a grueling daytime schedule: the movie clocks in at a wonderful and rare 93 minutes, excluding credits.
So this almost-short film operates like a playful Spielberg film (much more so than Spielberg’s disappointing Disclosure Day), as Mitchell has fun with camera angles and slow cinematography that hides its deadly creatures partially off screen—for a while, at times—and keeps you guessing as to what’s going to happen next (other than the stupid boy of course having to pursue his dog out into the neighborhood).
Ewan McGregor and Anne Hathaway are good enough here that they elevate the material, semi-convincingly delivering forced dialogue before the film hits its rhythm. They’re a solid pair, with Hathaway getting the especially solid and likable lead role. She’s turned in some fantastic performances this year (Mother Mary, The Odyssey) and while Oak Street may not give her a sensational screenplay to work from, she still gives an all-in performance.
But The End of Oak Street is about dinosaur mayhem, and Mitchell delivers plenty of it. Creatures of all sizes, most of them dangerous, are a threat at every corner. Mitchell doesn’t hold back from some mildly gory and at times mischievously meanstreaked deaths, but the movie is notably lighthearted compared to its self-serious Jurassic cousins. The fun Mitchell clearly had while making this movie is infectious: The End of Oak Street is not only a crowdpleaser but it’s downright funny, sometimes hilariously so.The audience I was at laughed and relished in what’s put to screen, and there are moments you won’t see coming.
The End of Oak Street may start off rough, but this is exactly the kind of summer movie we need more of: a blessedly short, non-franchise, popcorn-chomping, dinosaur nom-noming action-packed piece of entertainment.
Review by Erik Samdahl. Erik is a marketing and technology executive by day, avid movie lover by night. He is a member of the Seattle Film Critics Society.