David Robert Mitchell’s “The End of Oak Street”

Movie Review by Dennis D. McDonald

David Robert Mitchell’s “The End of Oak Street” is entertaining, lively, and easy enough to enjoy—provided you don’t pay too much attention to story details.

One way to think about the movie is as a 1980s suburban “slice of life” story dressed up with ravenous carnivorous dinosaurs. The physical details of the neighborhood are handled pretty well. The ordinary suburban setting gives the movie much of its charm. The more familiar the scene, the more entertaining it becomes when enormous predators start chomping down on the humans.

I enjoyed the two leads, Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor. They give the movie enough personality to keep things moving despite the weak plot. The other performances make less of an impression..

The special effects by ILM are decent without being spectacular. I admit to being spoiled by what is possible these days. At first I wondered whether that was a limitation, but perhaps it was partly the point. The movie does not seem especially interested in turning every dinosaur appearance into a technical showcase but instead focuses on constant and at times harrowing chases.

One positive comment about the special effects: the lighting of the creatures is very well integrated with the action, much of which occurs in broad daylight. In years past darkness would have hidden the details of creature animation; that is definitely not the case here.

I saw the film in IMAX and was not overwhelmed. I don’t think Mitchell really grasps—or perhaps simply did not care to exploit—what true IMAX can do. But then, not everyone is Christopher Nolan!

Michael Giacchino’s music bothered me at first. It struck me as intrusive and somewhat unimaginative, as if it were working too hard to tell me how to respond. At times it reminded me very much of the soundtracks to SUPER 8 and TOMORROWLAND. As the movie went on, though, the score began to seem better suited to the exaggerated nature of the story.

The sound design overall is quite good, and that matters in a movie built around large creatures moving through ordinary spaces. Also, I was impressed that, when a character slams a vintage era car door, it really does sound like a vintage era car door being slammed—good detail!

So: entertaining? Yes. A movie whose logic rewards close scrutiny? Nope.

I had a good time with it. For a summer popcorn movie that may be enough. I would not, however, spend the extra dollars for an IMAX ticket unless that is simply your preferred way to see movies. A theater with a decent screen and a good sound system should do the job perfectly well.

Review copyright © 2026 by Dennis D. McDonald

POPCORN movies