IR Film Review: THE END OF OAK STREET [Warner Bros]
The aspect of a film like "The End Of Oak Street" is mixing different natures of the 80s films we know and love. The trailers gave away the concept but not the full play of its tendencies. Producer JJ Abrams obviously has a soft spot for this type of films. It plays out well but also expects you not to look too hard at the plot holes while still enjoying its rewards. In an age where filmgoers want everything wrapped up tightly in a bow, “Oak Street” goes more for nostalgia without renegging on the chicanery that the concept can come up with. But it also asks you to just go with it even when the logic has really nothing to do with the situation. That said, doesn’t pull punches but it also gets it right in at PG-13 even with one scene which really sells it in terms of stakes and directs in a way.
This narrative thrust also gives the end of the film something cool to play for while not getting overly stuck in its own themes. Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor have a good time but you never quite believe them as a couple. McGregor gets a cool concept to play and this reviewer knows what sold him and it makes sense. And Hathaway plays something even different than she has played before this year. The way the film hits it climax again works perfectly (again as long as you get too nitpicks with the final moments). There is a couple "all is lost" moment which is what makes it fun. And a kid tries to save his dog and vice versa. The film is great fun and has a certain survival mindset not unlike "A Quiet Place" but with much more of popcorn sensibility though there is some trauma in it. The dinosaur element in suburbia is a great idea and director David Robert Mitchell pushes it just as far as he can keeping if light and contained while using the effects to the best of his ability. “The End Of Oak Street” is sort of what you would think it would be and its slot of fun for that reason as long as you take it only as serious enough as it takes itself. 87%/B+
By Tim Wassberg
