Movie Review: ‘A House Of Dynamite’

Tweet
Review by James Lindorf

Academy Award®-winning director Kathryn Bigelow sat in the director’s chair for a future film for nearly a decade. Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal seemed like an unstoppable duo after collaborating on “The Hurt Locker” and “Zero Dark Thirty.” Then came 2017’s “Detroit.” No one denies that it was a well-made and well-acted film. Still, people questioned whether they were the best people to share this story with the world, and the box office bore the brunt of that indecision. Boal would go on to make standard fiction-based action thrillers. At the same time, Bigelow has only directed an iPhone commercial and a minute-long short. Now she is back with Netflix’s “A House of Dynamite.” The political thriller begins a two-week theatrical run on October 10th before moving to the streaming platform.

Screenwriter Noah Oppenheim is returning from an extended break of his own. His last film to grace the big screen was 2016’s “Jackie,” which garnered a Best Actress Oscar nomination for Natalie Portman. During that time, he did small things like becoming the President of NBC News. Oppenheim chose to leave that job in 2023 and focus on film and television productions where he could control the narrative instead of just responding to the choices of others. “A House of Dynamite” is his second Netflix project this year, following the streamer’s release of “Zero Day,” a limited series about a former President played by Robert De Niro navigating a global crisis.

“A House of Dynamite” follows the response of three groups within the United States government when a single, unattributed missile is launched with a target somewhere within the continental US. All events in the film occur nearly simultaneously over a brief 25-minute stretch of time. Captain Olivia Walker (Rebecca Ferguson) and Admiral Mark Miller (Jason Clarke) are leading the team at the White House Situation Room, which is responsible for coordinating all of the nation’s resources. General Anthony Brady (Tracy Letts) is the senior military officer at United States Strategic Command (STRATCOM), and his team will advise the White House on all possible reactions to the attack. The final point of view is that of the current POTUS (Idris Elba), who is pulled from a WNBA event with children to be briefed on the incoming missile, who might be responsible, what damage could be done, and how he can respond. The core teams are supported by a great cast, including Anthony Ramos, Jared Harris, Gabriel Basso, Moses Ingram, and Kaitlyn Dever.

There is no question about the quality of the performances throughout the film, with its ensemble of great established actors and young talent. Oppenheim’s story, combined with Bigelow’s direction, Barry Ackroyd’s (The Hurt Locker) cinematography, and occasionally Volker Bertelmann’s (Conclave) score, creates one of the most intense political thrillers of the last 15 years, and that’s just in the first segment of the film. As they move into the second and final segments, the star power increases, but the return on investment diminishes. While presenting different points of view, the new segments offer only the tiniest fraction of new information. The comments that were initially only heard in the background or over a staticky phone line are given the focus. However, hearing them clearly, rather than from a faceless machine, doesn’t significantly change the impact of the information.

Partnering with the lack of information is a lack of commitment. Oppenheim chose not to identify a perpetrator for the launch, define a response from the President, or even commit to it being an intentional act. This combination takes the taught thriller and turns it into a choose your own adventure discussion topic. How would you respond? Would it be the same if it were one country or another? Would it change based on the targeted city? What would be your biggest fear: looking indecisive, looking weak, or that any action would result in mutually assured destruction? Would you choose to focus on retaliation or helping those impacted and decreasing the spread of death? So many questions are left for the audience to discuss on the car ride home or online. These discussions can be thought-provoking, and our responses can be quite revealing. And while that does make for good art, it does not make for an overly satisfying film.

“A House of Dynamite” doesn’t appear interested in providing a bookended experience to a nightmare scenario. Instead, it appears that they want to depict this as an unwinnable scenario, something to be avoided at all costs, and a reason for the entire world to reduce nuclear arms completely. “A House of Dynamite” starts big and holds your attention through the first act, but allows your mind to wander as time passes, losing its effectiveness and lowering its final score to a 3.5 out of 5. “A House of Dynamite” does so many things well; it will find its audience, but it would have been a better film as a short instead of 112 minutes of repetition.

Release Date (Theaters): Oct 10, 2025, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 24, 2025
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Runtime: 1h 52m
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Screenwriter: Noah Oppenheim
Producer: Kathryn Bigelow, Noah Oppenheim, Greg Shapiro
Distributor: Netflix
Production Co: Netflix, First Light Productions