Review: The End of Oak Street

Set in the early 80s, The End of Oak Street tells the story of the Platt family, whose peaceful life is abruptly ruined by the appearance of dinosaurs in their neighbourhood. At first, the whole family is arguing about typical family issues, but these problems become much bigger as the plot continues.

The good thing about this film is the amazing performances from Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor, who manage to create a believable family dynamic. The other actors are also great and bring plenty of energy to their roles. Even with all the chaos around them, the family never lacks interesting conversations. I especially liked how, despite the danger, they still manage to light heartedly joke around together as after all, they are family.

Another strong side of the film is the special effects, which make all the prehistoric creatures incredibly realistic. The dinosaurs look unbelievable, seeing them suddenly appear in a familiar setting can be quite interesting

to watch. The tension is also helped by how unpredictable they are. Sometimes they can simply stop and look at the family, before suddenly causing complete chaos.

However, not everything is perfect about The End of Oak Street. Since I personally am not fond of films centred around dinosaurs, this film sadly did not change my opinion of the genre. Although the plot has some differences from the usual dinosaur films, there were still parts where it felt like I had seen similar things before.

Nonetheless, the finale is very engaging and thought-provoking. Without spoiling anything, one character makes a decision that can definitely be questioned, leaving you wondering what you would do in the same situation.

Overall, The End of Oak Street is clever, exciting and really well acted. Even though it could not make me a super fan of the dinosaur genre, I am glad that I watched it!