THE END OF OAK STREET (2026)

Starring Anne Hathaway, Ewan McGregor, Maisy Stella, Christian Convery, Jordan Alexa Davis, P. J. Byrne, Chris Coy, Hudson Meek, Anne Gee Byrd, Emily Kuroda, Simms May, Grayson Thorne Kilpatrick, Pilot Bunch, Walker Russell, Hugo Silver, Michael-Christian Moore, David Alexander Kaplan, Christopher A. Martin, Denitra Isler, Isabella Aparicio and Scott Deal.

Screenplay by David Robert Mitchell.

Directed by David Robert Mitchell.

Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. 99 minutes. Rated PG-13.

There is an old saying that is often attributed to artist Pablo Picasso, “Good artists copy. Great artists steal.” While there does not appear to be any proof that Picasso actually said that – in fact it appears to be a loose paraphrase of a line by poet TS Eliot – this saying popped into my mind while watching the new sci-fi adventure The End of Oak Street.

The End of Oak Street takes place in a Michigan suburb in the summer of 1982. It is not likely just a coincidence that the movie takes place in the same summer that Steven Spielberg released his yin-and-yang double feature of contrasting views of Reagan-era suburban angst – E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Poltergeist. The first stretch of Oak Street is an affectionate pastiche of those two films (with a bit of Close Encounters and Jaws thrown in for good measure). This takes up the first third or so of the movie and is by far the most entertaining part of the film.

However, soon after that the dinosaurs appear (that’s not a spoiler, it’s on the damned poster!) and the film starts to lose its charm. Quickly it becomes obvious that writer/director David Robert Mitchell couldn’t decide what to rip off next, copying ideas from Jurassic Park, Under the Dome, Stranger Things, Little Shop of Horrors, Stand By Me, Lassie, Land of the Lost and even (sort of) Dallas.

Let’s face it, The End of Oak Street is imitating, not recreating. Which does not necessarily make it a bad film – in fact there are some pretty good parts. But it doesn’t make it particularly good, either. It’s an enjoyable enough action film, but no one will ever mistake it for the kind of classic films from which it draws its inspiration. Still, there are worse ways to spend an afternoon.

Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor play Denise and Greg Platt, a married couple with two teenaged children who are chafing under the routines of their suburban life. Denise is smart and serious and capable; Greg is an amiable screwup. Denise is starting to feel antsy in her relationship with Greg and is harboring a dream of becoming a writer. Greg picks up on her ambivalence and fears losing her. He tries to be everything she wants but inevitably falls short.

Denise knows deep down that she will not leave her children, who she loves completely. Interestingly, older daughter Audrey (Maisy Stella) is very much like mom; intelligent, grounded and adventurous, while younger son Brian (Christian Convery) is more like dad, sweet, shy and a bit of a nerd.

The first 30 minutes or so are life in suburbia. The family takes part in a crazily crowded block party. (How many people live in this neighborhood?) Mom and dad argue about him ducking out to work a second job delivering pizza. Mom takes lots of Polaroid pictures of the family. Brian and his buddies avoid bullies and get a crush on the new girl down the street. Audrey reads Carl Sagan on the roof. Their next-door neighbor bitches about their dog barking. Mom seeks refuge with a nice older lady down the street who is reading a draft of mom’s unfinished novel.

The nice lady shows Denise an odd new plant which has sprung up pretty much overnight in her back yard. Denise takes a Polaroid of the plant and goes to the library and is unable to identify it, until the librarian – who is another neighbor – posits it looks like one kind of plant that has been extinct for thousands of years. It is never quite explained how she would know that particular fact.

Then – to paraphrase Alice in Wonderland – everything starts getting curiouser and curiouser. Strange lights illuminate the sky. Weird noises and movements start to come from the woods. Then, suddenly, dozens of ancient creatures are roaming the streets – and skies – of the neighborhood. They destroy cars, tear through houses, and hunt down many of the people we’ve spent the last half hour getting to know. (And even worse, their pets!)

Of course, they never quite explain the science of what happens. Oh, there is some vague mumbo-jumbo about wormholes and Carl Sagan, but none of that really explains how a small suburban area is suddenly wholly transported back in time – or the dinosaur age is transported forward into their neighborhood. It’s all left a bit ambiguous. You either buy into the film’s science, or you don’t.

As one of my fellow critics pointed out, at least these dinosaurs have feathers, which Jurassic Park never bothered to pull off, so points for that scientific research.

The film is pretty much anchored by Hathaway’s performance, as a fierce mother who will not let anything – even dinosaurs – harm her family. She radiates bravery even when Denise is unsure of her life and relationships.

McGregor is just fine playing Greg, but his work is slightly overpowered by Hathaway’s performance. Of course, that has more to do with the character’s ineffectualness and nice-guy blandness rather than the actor and his performance. Maisy Stella, who made a big impression last year in My Old Ass, handles the film’s escalating terror with natural conviction and Christian Convery plays childish fear with disarming authenticity.

There is a totally adorable dog playing the family mutt Starbuck – which I would guess is named after the Battlestar Galactica fighter pilot and not the “Moonlight Feels Right” one-hit-wonder band, but either reference would be era‑appropriate as long as the dog is about four or five years old. Don’t let anyone tell you anything else – Starbuck is the true hero in this story.

And the dinosaurs? Well, they are scary, realistic and pretty much everywhere. For all its spectacular visuals, the story itself doesn’t make a whole heck of a lot of sense. But if you turn off your mind and just take the dino ride, The End of Oak Street is probably worth seeing. Probably even more so on a big screen. However, if you can’t catch it in the movie house, it will still be an experience in the comfort of your own home.

I’m not going to lie, the twist ending felt like a bit of a cheat to me. (Of course I can’t explain why without spoiling the end, so just take my word for this.) However, I can see how some viewers may prefer it to some darker turns the story may have taken.

The End of Oak Street is produced by JJ Abrams. This isn’t surprising because it is very much in his wheelhouse – similar in many ways to the Cloverfield movies and Super 8 – both of which are evidence that Abrams himself has also built a career on affectionate pastiche. Abrams has been largely absent from major theatrical releases in recent years – and his Bad Robot studio just went through massive layoffs – so it’s nice to see his name in the credits again.

What about writer/director David Robert Mitchell? He shows great promise as a filmmaker. Still, going back to the concept of Picasso (or Eliot or whoever said it), right now he’s a good artist who is copying his peers rather than a great artist who is stealing their thunder. Let’s see what he finds after reaching The End of Oak Street. Maybe he’ll even start stealing from himself.

Jay S. Jacobs

Copyright ©2026 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: August 12, 2026.