Review: 'The End of Oak Street' is a thrilling throwback to the original '90s blockbusters

SALT LAKE CITY — There was something special about growing up in the '90s.

Every summer seemed to bring another original blockbuster where ordinary people suddenly found themselves battling extraordinary threats. Dinosaurs. Aliens. Killer tornadoes. Giant bugs. Cyborgs. Hollywood wasn't afraid to swing big, and audiences never quite knew what they were going to get.

"The End of Oak Street" taps into that same spirit.

It's a big, entertaining, original adventure that mixes spectacle with heart and reminds us that the best creature features aren't really about the monsters. They're about the people trying to survive them.

A neighborhood trapped in the past

Without giving away too much, the film follows a family whose seemingly perfect suburban life is shattered when their neighborhood is mysteriously transported into a prehistoric wilderness filled with gigantic, deadly creatures.

What begins as a fight for survival quickly becomes something more personal. As terrifying as the prehistoric threats are, the real battle is whether this fractured family can find its way back to each other.

That's what surprised me most.

It would have been easy for the movie to simply string together dinosaur attacks and action sequences. Instead, the giant creatures become the backdrop for a story about marriage, parenting and rediscovering the people you've slowly drifted away from.

At just under two hours, the story moves at a brisk pace. The action rarely lets up, and the movie balances large-scale set pieces with quieter character moments that give us reasons to care about who lives and who doesn't.

The opening is intentionally a little corny, almost too perfect to be believable. At first it feels forced and artificial, but that's exactly the point. Once the story reveals what's really happening, that awkward perfection suddenly makes complete sense.

It's a clever setup that pays off nicely.

Anne Hathaway steals the movie

Ewan McGregor brings plenty of warmth and likability as the father, and the young actors playing the children hold their own in what could have easily become thankless roles.

But this is Anne Hathaway's movie.

We've always known Hathaway is an incredibly capable actress, and recent performances have reminded audiences just how versatile she can be. Here, she delivers one of the film's strongest performances as a woman trying to hold both her family and herself together while facing impossible circumstances.

She's vulnerable without feeling weak, frustrated without becoming unlikeable, and when the movie asks her to become an action hero, she rises to the occasion effortlessly.

It's an impressive balancing act because she never stops feeling like a mom first. Even during the biggest action sequences, Hathaway keeps the emotional stakes front and center. Every decision she makes feels driven by protecting her family rather than simply surviving another dinosaur encounter.

That emotional grounding gives the movie far more weight than some films in this genre.

A few frustrating choices

The movie isn't without its flaws.

Without spoiling anything, one character repeatedly makes bafflingly poor decisions that place everyone else in danger. Once or twice might be understandable, but it becomes such a recurring plot device that it starts to feel more frustrating than believable.

Eventually, I found myself less worried about what the dinosaurs might do and more worried about what this particular character would do next.

The ending will likely divide audiences, too. I actually enjoyed where the story ultimately lands, but one sequence requires a level of suspended disbelief that stretches things just a bit too far. I know how absurd that sounds considering it's a movie where an entire neighborhood has been dropped into a prehistoric jungle.

Still, even fantasy stories have to establish their own internal rules, and one moment asks the audience to overlook a timeline that felt a little too convenient.

It's a small complaint in an otherwise satisfying finale.

What parents should know

"The End of Oak Street" is rated PG-13 for intense creature violence, peril and some bloody images.

Several frightening sequences involve giant prehistoric animals attacking people. Multiple characters are eaten or killed on screen, and while the gore isn't excessive, there is some blood and a handful of moments that may shock younger and, to be honest, older viewers.

The overall intensity feels similar to "Jurassic Park," perhaps just a notch higher in a few scenes because of the frequency of the attacks.

There is little language or sexual content.

Older teens who enjoy creature features should be fine, but parents of younger or more sensitive children should know that several scenes are genuinely suspenseful and frightening.

Conclusion

"The End of Oak Street" feels like the kind of original summer blockbuster Hollywood used to make more often.

In an era dominated by sequels, reboots and familiar franchises, it's refreshing to watch a movie built around a brand-new idea that isn't afraid to simply entertain.

It's exciting, surprisingly emotional, and consistently engaging. More importantly, it understands that giant prehistoric monsters are only half the attraction. The other half is giving us characters worth rooting for.

The result is a fun, old-fashioned adventure that feels like it could have sat comfortably alongside the big original crowd-pleasers of the '90s.

I feel like that's a pretty high compliment.

Related topics