- Director: David Robert Mitchell
- Screenplay: David Robert Mitchell
- Producer: J.J. Abrams, Hannah Minghella, Jon Cohen, David Robert Mitchell, Matt Jackson, Tommy Harper
- Cast: Anne Hathaway, Ewan McGregor, Maisy Stella, Christian Convery
- Cinematography: Michael Gioulakis
- Editing: John Axelrad
- Score: Michael Giacchino
- Genre: Science fiction survival
- Runtime: 99 minutes
Your typical American neighbourhood gets flung into the prehistoric era in a flash of light in this diverting battle for survival.
It’s a sunny day for the inhabitants of Oak Street. The film is set in 1982 so there’s a warm, retro quality to it. We focus on the Platts: Denise and Greg (Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor, respectively), their daughter Audrey (Maisy Stella) and son Brian (Christian Convery). A suburban family isn’t complete without their trials: the parents’ marriage is on the brink of collapse and Brian deals with both a teenage crush and the wrath of local bullies.
Their tribulations are put into perspective with an overnight storm. Another morning of fair weather greets the street. But where is everyone? It’s eerily quiet…until a pack of coelophyses emerge from the shrubbery and start mauling the remaining residents. Nowhere is safe, not with pterodactyls swooping down to munch on some poor soul. There’s a high body count for a PG-13 movie but we don’t see any gnarly close-ups of dinosaur-related deaths.
What sets this apart from a ‘Jurassic Park‘ entry is the setting. It’s literally close to home, taking place entirely in the suburbs as opposed to a tropical island. The beasts run amok, wreaking havoc on the picture-perfect rows of houses and tearing up the immaculately mown lawns. The juxtaposition of the trappings of ordinary life and the phenomenal makes this an engaging romp, acted strongly throughout by the core four players.
My rating: 7 / 10
SilverScreen 