The End Of Oak Street is a bit of a stealth movie. Among superhero noise, historic epics, and Disney releases, it is a little bit buried. Yet everyone who watches the trailer says that it looks interesting. Does this summer movie season have one last big surprise in it? Well, now the reviews are in, and the answer may be “yes!”.
The reviews are positive, and it is scoring higher on the aggregator sites than any of the Jurassic World movies. So dinosaurs still have some allure?
It’s produced by JJ Abrams, but not written or directed by him. This, as any Outposter knows, may be a good thing. So what are the critics saying? To the summary pages!:
“I can’t fathom how The End of Oak Street actually exists, even if it is a perfect example of what the big studios should be doing right now — making original spectacles, ideally ones in which Anne Hathaway fires a rifle at a velociraptor.”
Alison Wilmore, Vulture
“A crowd-pleasing but winkingly mean-spirited Amblin homage that perfectly captures the sweet menace of movies like “Gremlins” and “The Goonies”, “The End of Oak Street” is what multiplexes have been missing from recent summers.”
David Ehrlich, Indiewire
“The End of Oak Street isn’t merely a running buffet of references; it’s an honourable attempt to revive bygone blockbusting techniques for a contemporary crowd.”
Robbie Collin, The Daily Telegraph
“How great if this type of four-quadrant filmmaking didn’t have to cosplay as a begotten relic — if it could take courage from these dinosaurs and thrive in our modern times.”
Amy Nicholson, The LA Times
“Much of the pastiche delight of the 1980s-set The End of Oak Street… is how it absorbs an Amblin-style blockbuster spirit and conjures, without winking irony or belabored homage, a summer thrill ride seemingly designed for the drive-in.”
Jake Coyle, Associated Press
It’s not all great reviews. The movie didn’t chime with some, perhaps those who don’t feel the need for this Amblin-style revival effort:
“It’s not that The End of Oak Street is bad. It’s just flagrantly copying better movies and TV shows. It’s so determined to get ’80s loving Spielberg guys that it doesn’t really care if anyone else is interested.”
Kristen Lopez, The Film Maven
“If you’re looking for carefree summer fun, look elsewhere. The End of Oak Street is not fun. It’s bleak, brutal, and ultimately infuriating.”
Kristy Puchko, Mashable
“While it’s mindlessly entertaining in a big-dumb-fun kind of way, this is a movie that doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be, beyond a worshipful homage to 1980s Amblin, canonical Spielberg in particular.”
David Rooney, THR
The End of Oak Street opens in theaters tomorrow. It’s not a franchise. It’s not a sequel. It’s not a superhero movie. Maybe we should all go check it out?
