‘A House of Dynamite’ Movie Review: One of the Best Thrillers Netflix Has Ever Made

From First Light Pictures, Kingsgate Films, & Prologue Entertainment, A House of Dynamite is the much-anticipated return for Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty), whose last film, Detroit, was released a little over 8 years ago. Premiering at the Venice International Film Festival ahead of its limited theatrical run in the UK and the US, the political thriller was nominated for the Golden Lion, the festival’s top film prize.

Written by former NBC News President and award-winning screenwriter Noah Oppenheim (Jackie, Zero Day), the story focuses on the U.S. government’s response to one of our worst fears as a nation: a single nuclear missile launched by an unidentified enemy. From its first identification at an Alaskan anti-ballistic missile site to the ultimate decision from a sitting U.S. President, viewers get a real-time department-by-department assessment & strategic breakdown of a country on the verge of disaster.

Beyond the 7-time Emmy nominated Idris Elba (Luther, Beasts of No Nation) in the role of POTUS, the film stars Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible & Dune franchises) as Captain Olivia Walker, Gabriel Basso (The Night Agent) as Deputy National Security Advisor Jake Baerington, Jared Harris (Mad Men, Chernobyl) as Secretary of Defense Reid Baker, Tracy Letts (Ford v. Ferrari, The Post) as General Brady, Anthony Ramos (Hamilton, Twisters) as Major Gonzalez, and Greta Lee (Past Lives, The Morning Show) as NSA Intelligence Officer Ana Park.

While today’s political climate, filled with divisive viewpoints & larger-than-life figures, may differ from the one depicted in Bigelow’s government reality, A House of Dynamite strips away most of the rhetoric to reveal something far worse: vulnerability in the face of total annihilation. Delivering a thorough, exceptionally detailed nightmare of a thriller, Bigelow & Oppenheim turn a procedural exercise into a riveting, panic-filled doomsday scenario that exposes our post-Cold War arms build-up & defense structure as nothing more than a coin flip tossed up by fallible bureaucrats who could never imagine this moment would happen. A ticking clock scenario with no Jack Bauer to save the day; just a hope and a prayer as we try to “hit a bullet with a bullet”.

Punctuated by handheld, documentary style cinematography from Bigelow’s Hurt Locker DP Barry Ackroyd, the film brings you face to petrified face with every decision, every failure, & every quiet realization that their world may be forever changed. The look and tone feel akin to Paul Greengrass’ political thrillers like United 93 and 22 July or journalism projects like Spotlight or The Newsroom; zooming in close when the emotions rise and staying back to observe the despair from afar, a buffet for such expressive actors with incredible range like Elba, Ferguson, & Jared Harris.

While its white knuckle thriller elements cannot be denied, the structure of the film combined with its more reserved political stance, may leave some people finding A House of Dynamite to be too reserved and too methodical to reach them in Trump’s America. No leaks to the press causing mass chaos, no egomaniacs blustering about retaliation; Bigelow and Oppenheim opt for dread & painful realizations over grandstanding in the geopolitical arena. They also chose to relive the events of the incredibly gripping first 40 minutes from multiple POVs as they pause, rewind, and expand the procedural aspects of the narrative to further illuminate the effects each major department has on one another in a major crisis.

While this is useful for understanding the global machinations of a nuclear attack, some may see it as a cop out as we never truly see the result and pause just as the crisis hits its apex. For me, while it does disrupt the flow of the story, the added value of deeper characterizations & more defined roles in the drama far outweighs sticking to a more linear structure or finding out the outcome of this particular catastrophe. Bigelow & Oppenheim don’t seem to want to villainize people or departments as much as they want to shed light on the powder keg we live with every day, sitting with the helplessness we should feel in stopping it, and the anger we should feel that it exists.

A House of Dynamite may not explode, but the fuse is lit; Bigelow gives an unflinching anxiety attack that asks more about how we got here than why it happened. The film’s centrist approach may dampen the fervor for its awards chances or turn people off in a movie year where One Battle After Another’s revolutionary spirit puts its fist in the air, but that doesn’t diminish the intensity & production quality of this well-crafted story full of detail, intellect, & strong messaging. This may not be the most decorated film of the year, but it’s definitely one of the most important.

Watch A House of Dynamite If You Liked

• Fail Safe
• Oppenheimer
• 24
• Zero Dark Thirty
• Zero Day

MVP of A House of Dynamite

Gabriel Basso as Deputy National Security Advisor Jake Baerington

If anyone is capable of bringing the audience into a missile scare in Washington, D.C., it has to be “The Night Agent” star Gabriel Basso. As a perfect follow-up to his hit Netflix series, Basso’s performance as Deputy National Security Advisor Jake Baerington guides us into a major crisis from the perspective of a man who’s thrusted into the spotlight, running to the biggest meeting of his life to go toe-to-toe with the likes of a military general bent on retaliation and a foreign minister still playing diplomatic games when millions of lives are on the line.

Basso’s youthful exterior and bubbling confidence give the audience someone to root for: an ambitious man unsatisfied in his career with a growing family who could have just as easily quit that morning, but instead stumbles his way to the most important day of his life. He’s as relatable as it gets in a coordinated government freak out, and Basso sells it perfectly.

Director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Noah Oppenheim give you front row seats to your worst fears. An anxious & exhaustive thriller that will obliterate your sense of safety in the modern nuclear world. You’ll be calling your loved ones by Act II.