The poorly received 2025 film ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ made a meta-commentary on how people no longer care about dinosaurs. The claim is reasonable, considering the dinosaur thriller genre has been on the silver screen for over 30 years, since the original Jurassic Park in 1993. Surprisingly, ‘The End of Oak Street’ (2026) manages a fun and fresh take on the genre, balancing intimate family drama with the big idea of a suburban street thrust into a prehistoric world.
David Robert Mitchell's ‘The End of Oak Street’ is Jurassic Park in an American neighbourhood. It follows the Platt family whose neighbourhood somehow gets teleported back to the the time of giant reptiles.
Anne Hathaway, jumping from a weary mother role in 'The Odyssey' (2026) to another version of maternal, portrays a convincingly younger Denise, feeling lighter than Penelope both in look and feel. The same can be said of Ewan McGregor: known for playing a not-so-young Obi-Wan Kenobi, his turn as optimistic father Greg feels like a de-aged version of him. Both actors bring to life lovable characters with believable human flaws.
Naturally, ‘The End of Oak Street's’ biggest selling point is its setting, which feels genuinely fresh, blending the familiarity of a US suburb with the excitement of the prehistoric world. I could feel the whimsy and excitement in every corner.
The film also captures the retro 80s popcorn summer-blockbuster feel quite well, whether in the John Williams-esque score, the period-appropriate suburban costumes and technology, the trope of ordinary people caught in an extraordinary event as in ‘E.T.’ (1982), or the sci-fi elements woven into the story, echoing the science fiction craze of the era.
The strongest part of ‘Oak Street,’ however, is not the big idea or the dinosaurs (some of which are strange, weird and even scary), but the family drama. The film blends grandeur with a more intimate, emotional family-centric narrative that feels sincere and complex. To the degree the runtime allows, the film leads the audience to care about its characters enough for an emotional payoff.
Nonetheless, given that this is a work by David Robert Mitchell, renowned for the horror film ‘It Follows’ (2014), I think people looking for a horror dinosaur movie will likely be disappointed. There are tense and thrilling moments, but not to the point of actually being frightful. This could be good or bad, depending on a viewer's expectations.
On the other hand, there are some scenes that may be quite shocking for family viewing, although it finds a way to stick a safe, family-friendly ending.
Overall, I think ‘The End of Oak Street’ is a surprisingly fun popcorn blockbuster. Given the downfall of the recent Jurassic World Rebirth, many might overlook it as just another dinosaur movie. Nonetheless, the outing offers a fun and fresh adventure that proves a good dinosaur thriller doesn't need to take us somewhere far, like a research-facility island searching for a world-defining cure. A familiar neighbourhood with intimate family drama can be enough.
