October 16, 2025 · Watch the official trailer
There’s a feeling audiences get in the opening moments of Kathryn Bigelow’s film that rarely goes away over the course of two hours.
It’s an intense feeling of impending dread that evokes an inevitable climax, which will be more or less appreciated by viewers depending on their level of engagement with the film, which is limited theatrical release before its debut on Netflix this Friday.
From a screenplay by Noah Oppenheim, Bigelow makes her return to cinemas for the first time in eight years, “A House of Dynamite,” part political thriller, part psychological drama, and overall, a treatise on morality in what could easily become an apocalyptic world. The film follows numerous characters across different levels of the American military and government after an intercontinental ballistic missile appears on radar screens heading for the U.S.
The Oscar winning director behind “The Hurt Locker” and “Zero Dark Thirty,” Bigelow’s direction gives Oppenheim’s unique take on the narrative structure the vibrancy and urgency it desperately requires, though the clever hook he weaves into his script loses its luster over the course of two hours. The film is constantly propelled by an immersive, electrifying score from Volker Bertelmann that gives “A House of Dynamite” that edge-of-your-seat energy the screenplay doesn’t fully provide.
The film’s large and talented ensemble cast does exceptional work to bring the world of “A House of Dynamite” to life. However, Oppenheim as screenwriter – and to a certain extent, Bigelow as director – is less interested in their individual circumstances than in using a plethora of characters to make a larger moral observation.
This truly shortchanges some of the terrific work going on in the film, especially early on from “Hamilton” star Anthony Ramos as a military official seeking to track the missile and Rebecca Ferguson as an intelligence operative working in the White House strategy team. Equally baffling is the decision to leave Idris Elba’s presidential character confined to a black Zoom call box for more than half the length of the film.
Talented character actors like Tracy Letts, Jason Clarke and Jared Harris bring unique depth and gravitas to each segment of “A House of Dynamite, as well, fitting a bit better in the ensemble driven nature of the film.
Oppenheim’s insistent screenplay limits Bigelow’s ability to showcase conversations between characters effectively.
This isn’t to say that the screenplay or narrative is necessarily lacking in any regard. “A House of Dynamite” is something that will benefit from subsequent viewings to understand the film’s frequent perspective changes with greater narrative context.
The quick, staccato pace of the film as a whole does lend itself to a heightened level of suspension of disbelief that similar films in this genre probably wouldn’t achieve. “A House of Dynamite” feels like the pilot episode to a limited series from the streaming service that produced it, as there is a clear Netflix sheen that doesn’t fade away when seen on the big screen.
Bigelow’s tense political thriller is likely to be a major Oscar player come awards season, despite the number of other Netflix titles the studio will have to balance marketing budgets for, with the George Clooney led “Jay Kelly” and Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” also seeing their own contender status.
This could be the rare film that is nominated for Best Picture and Director with zero acting nominees, as none of the ensemble cast has enough screen time to merit consideration and the supporting actor categories are far too crowded for such an ensemble film.
On the whole, “A House of Dynamite” probably isn’t something cinephiles would have to rush out to see on the big screen, given its ease of accessibility on Netflix’s streaming service. However, viewers wanting a fast-paced, dialogue-heavy political thriller would be well-served to check this film out when it releases on the streamer next weekend.
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