It’s not a good sign when a film leaves a person asking “who is this movie for?” That’s unfortunately, a common occurrence in this dinosaur-filled movie, though.
The picture, written and directed by David Robert Mitchell, stars Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor as suburban married couple, Denise and Greg. All is not happy in their home, though, as their marriage is on the rocks, with Denise particularly tired of the way the relationship is going.
They’re forced to put their marital issues aside, though, to protect their two children when a strange event happens. One morning, they wake up to find their entire neighborhood has been transported back in time to a dangerous age of dinosaurs. Now, the family has to band together to survive and find a way back to their own time.
What if you took a Stephen King story, and a Steven Spielberg film, and unceremoniously smashed them together? You get something like “The End of Oak Street.” As cool as that sounds, it’s unfortunately not a good thing. This is a film that is largely confused in who it’s supposed to appeal to, especially because of how the tone is handled.
There are times when this movie seems like it’s going for something light, adventurous and fun. A romp with dinosaurs thrown into the world of American suburbs. In others, it comes across like a heavier, family drama featuring some rather graphic, intense scenes more in line with a straight-up horror flick.
Mitchell, who first burst onto the Hollywood scene with his fantastic 2015 flick “It Follows,” never manages to find the right balance for his latest picture, and the movie suffers for it. “Oak Street” bounces back and forth from fantastical dinosaur survival to family melodrama without cohesion, leading to an unsatisfying watch.
The character dynamics don’t work too well, either. For one, Ewan McGregor feels regularly out of place in the film, lacking chemistry with Hathaway and not providing his character with much more than general tepidness. There’s just not much personality to latch on to. Another example is a younger character brought in at the 11th hour who’s kind of a love interest? Maybe?
The film doesn’t really explore it very well, and it just seems like an odd, random addition. Speaking of the younger characters, it seems like the son of Greg and Denise, Brian (Christian Convery), is being set up to have some kind of arc. He has a close connection with his dog that drives plot points, and there’s a looming bully he’s had to deal with described early on. However, nothing really interesting or compelling is done with his character.
The major saving grace of the film is Hathaway, who practically puts the entire movie on her back and carries it. It definitely helps that her character is the most fleshed out, but beyond that, she is just phenomenal on screen. There are some emotional moments that remind a person why she has an Academy Award.
The film also boasts some solid action set pieces with its dino action. Though it lacks the moments of wonder a person experienced in, say, the first “Jurassic Park,” as a general survival adventure, there’s some entertainment value. It’s all delivered in a tight hour and 40 minutes, too, though the ending drags on just a bit and features a questionable conclusion.
Funny enough, producer J.J. Abrams did the creature feature approach with Spielberg influences and family drama better 15 years ago with 2011’s “Super 8.” “Oak Street,” meanwhile, largely misses the mark.
Only one of the characters is actually engaging, which is not a positive in an ensemble work, and the creature thrills have been done better elsewhere. Hathaway and some spectacle keep this one from falling too far, at least. 2.3 out of 5.
Photo courtesy Warner Bros.
