The End of Oak Street Review: The Most Thrilling Dinosaur Movie Since Jurassic Park [No Spoiler Review]

The End of Oak Street (2026) poster

I’d call this the most thrilling dinosaur movie ever, more thrilling than Jurassic Park. I had low expectations, but I’d heard good things, so we went and watched it in the theatres, and by the end it was a genuinely fun experience.

I think putting dinosaurs in suburban America in the ’80s is a pretty good combination. We’ve seen dinosaurs in parks, but dinosaurs in suburban ’80s America is something new. The ’80s setting makes sense. This really felt like a ’90s movie, with the soundtrack and the musical score. It felt like a classic ’80s/’90s Spielberg film. A lot of movies have been doing that. I guess our childhood is now “classic.”

There were some amusing, bordering on ridiculous, moments in the film, and I had to nudge my wife because it was just funny watching it happen. It was all done in good taste, not too self-deprecating or self-referential, just, “Oh my god, I can’t believe that happened,” but fun. There were also some kids in the theatre who were crying, which was funny to me. I really enjoyed it, but it’s really not a movie for kids. I’d say it’s PG-13 at the minimum.

Overall it was pretty fun. Anne Hathaway does not age, or at least uses Botox, because Ewan McGregor had more wrinkles than she did. Nonetheless, it’s still a great year for Anne Hathaway. Everything she came out with in 2026 has been at least a 3 out of 5, but definitely all are interesting, and all are very good performances from her. I totally believed she was shooing away dinosaurs with all her heart. That’s an Oscar award winner shooing dinosaurs, and it shows! I don’t think you’re gonna get a better shooing away of imaginary dinosaurs than what she did in this movie.

This is apparently an original screenplay by writer and director David Robert Mitchell. Once again, new & engaging stories can still be told. We are in the midst of a film renaissance.

It’s so interesting to watch, definitely fun and entertaining. It’s a ridiculous premise, but if you go in with low expectations, it’s fun. Should you watch it on streaming? You can, but I really enjoyed hearing all the children crying in the cinema, and the collective gasps. Just for that, I think it’s also worth checking out at the movie theatre. Come on people, watch more movies in the theatre. The cool kids are doing it. Turn off your brain and have a good time at the movies!

★★★☆☆ for both of us.

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