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Reel Takes: ‘The End of Oak Street’ offers an edgy summer blockbuster

Imagine your favorite Steven Spielberg movie, but without the wonder. Whatever image you conjure up in your mind probably looks something like “The End of Oak Street.”

But perhaps that's slightly unfair. Director David Robert Mitchell's third feature is wickedly fun and boldly bizarre. It's edgy in a way not many family summer blockbusters are these days. But the film's clear homages to Spielberg -- grand wizard of the summer blockbuster -- ironically makes the end product feel somewhat empty.

The movie follows the Platt family and their surrounding neighborhood, mainly the residents of Oak Street. Husband and wife Greg and Denise (Ewan McGregor and Anne Hathaway) are struggling in their marriage, and their kids Brian (Christian Convery) and Audrey (Maisy Stella) are beginning to notice the tension. When a mysterious event causes the town to be transported back to an unknown time long ago, the family needs to band together to survive.

Just from the premise alone, the Spielberg-isms become obvious. Oak Street clearly draws from some of the famed director's most iconic works, especially “Jurassic Park” and “E.T. the Extra Terrestrial.” There's a shot of children riding their bikes down the street that felt so familiar, I half expected to hear a John Williams score and see the bikes start to levitate. Mitchell -- also serving as screenwriter here -- intentionally sprinkles these homages throughout his movie. He wants to remind us of the fun we used to have at the movies.

And, to his credit, he achieves his goal... sort of. Mitchell frames the action and tension taking place on screen in a peculiar but effective way. The audience usually sees the danger lingering in the background, rather than being startled by a cheap, out-of-nowhere jump scare. Overall, Mitchell's compositions and blocking choices are off-kilter, adding to the film's uneasiness. There are genuinely engaging (and upsetting) moments here, bringing actual stakes to a film that could have easily come across as uninteresting and bland. Having previously directed “It Follows” (2014) and “Under the Silver Lake” (2018), Mitchell has more than proven his competence.

No list of “Oak Street's” achievements would be complete without mentioning Hathaway. Already having a stellar 2026 (starring in films like “The Odyssey,” “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” and “Mother Mary”), she portrays the struggling suburban mom just as well as you think she does. It helps that her character is given some depth the other family members lack. She carries out her emotional arc in a heart-wrenching, believable way.

Still, all the winks and nods to Spielberg ultimately work against the movie. About halfway through the film, I began to understand why these touches came across as bothersome. What makes a Spielberg masterpiece work is the sense of awe that usually precedes or accompanies the action and thrills. Think of the aforementioned “E.T.” moment when the kids begin to fly on their bikes, soaring past the full moon while John Williams music also does some soaring of its own. Or, consider “Jurassic Park,” where the paleontologists first see the dinosaurs -- similarly accompanied by a classic Williams tune. These moments provide a sense of wonder in the world being created on screen, grounding the audience with the characters in the adventure they are about to go on.

No such moment exists in Oak Street. At a brisk 100 minutes, the movie takes no time to stop and bask in the awe, or the terror, that envelops its characters. We are barely offered any character development of any sort outside of Hathaway's Denise. Shots that could have served as these awe-inspiring moments are too often quickly glossed over, perhaps in an attempt to hide what seems to be some shoddy CGI work. Without this sense of awe, we are left with a technically efficient but emotionally underwhelming adventure.

I give Mitchell and company credit for crafting a fun film that feels like a blast from the past. Audiences should much prefer an original film like this to some of the IP-heavy slop that inhabits too many of our movie screens in 2026. But the attempt to pay respect to the great blockbusters of the past opens up a series of wounds from which “The End of Oak Street” can't quite recover.

Rating: 3/5

Joshua Stevens is a teacher, writer and film critic based in Marietta. He teaches high school English at Wood County Christian School in Williamstown. He is a staff writer at Loud and Clear Reviews, a Rotten Tomatoes approved publication. He has contributed to publications such as Think Christian and writes a Substack on film and the arts (The Culture Lens). He holds a BA in journalism and an MA in film and media studies.