The End of Oak Street Review: Ewan McGregor and Anne Hathaway Fight Dinosaurs, and Somehow It Works

Never thought I'd see Obi-Wan and Catwoman fighting dinosaurs, but I'm here for it! While they may have used some questionable promotional techniques, this film does not disappoint. The End of Oak Street combines time travel with dinosaurs and basically gives you Jurassic World on crack!! I went into this movie with pretty mid expectations, but I am pleased to say that I loved every minute of this film.

The movie is set in 1982 in a small town on Oak Street. It starts with a summer block party where everybody seems happy. Denise and Greg Platt, played by Ewan McGregor and Anne Hathaway, seem to have the perfect marriage and family. They have two kids, Brian and Audrey, played by Christian Convery and Maisy Stella.

But those expectations get immediately flipped when we realize Denise and Greg are actually on the verge of divorce, and the kids hear them arguing all the time. I don't want to spoil too much, but the family dynamic had me locked in right away. David Robert Mitchell knew what he was doing when he was writing and directing these characters.

But I know what you really want to hear about... THE DINOSAURS!

The story is about a portion of this suburban town getting uprooted by a mysterious time portal and being placed back in prehistoric times. The dinosaur designs are amazing. Coming from a guy who loved learning about dinosaurs as a kid, the design choices in this film made me smile. Yes, dinosaurs had feathers, and seeing that made me happy.

This is what I wish Jurassic Park would do sometimes. While the CGI and special effects can be a little wonky at times, they mainly stay consistent. From the Raptors to the Spinosaurus to the Carnotaurus, the dinosaur attack scenes brought a smile to my face. The kills were satisfying, and once again, this felt like a fresh take on something we've seen before with Jurassic Park.

And I'm saying that as a compliment. We needed something new and different when it comes to dinosaur movies, and I think we got that with this film. The family definitely doesn't go down without a fight because, again, this isn't an "escape the island" story. It's a "GET BACK TO THE PROPER TIMELINE" story. I really enjoyed the way the time-travel aspect was handled. I've seen a lot of time-travel stories in my time, and some of them can get VERY messy.

This is NOT one of those times. What really grounds this fantastical story, though, are the family issues. Denise and Greg are dealing with secrets and some very real family problems underneath everything happening around them. Those moments allow us to see the chemistry between our main characters and make the family feel like more than just people running from dinosaurs.

I also can't forget to mention P.J. Byrne as the annoying neighbor Mel Jacobs. He was definitely a scene stealer for me. I love P.J. in pretty much anything he's in, and he was a really pleasant surprise here.

The score was also a nice touch, composed by the maestro himself, Michael Giacchino. It really helped add to the atmosphere and made some of those bigger moments hit even harder.

All in all, if you can get past the horrible promotional ad that was put out and promptly taken down, I think you'll really enjoy this movie. I know I did. I also didn't know this was based on a book, and honestly, I'm glad I didn't. I went into this movie without anything to compare it to. Well, besides Jurassic Park. HAHAHAHA!

The End of Oak Street releases everywhere this Friday, August 14th.