By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
"A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE" DETONATES WITH REALISM AND NERVE"
Kathryn Bigelow, the Academy Award–winning director of "The Hurt Locker" and "Detroit," returns with
"A House of Dynamite, an explosive political thriller that grips from its opening moments to its startling conclusion.
Written by
Noah Oppenheim, (TV's "Zero Day"), the film begins with a flicker of unease at the remote Fort Greely military base in Alaska and spirals into a chilling portrait of a government scrambling to comprehend a possible nuclear strike.
"A House of Dynamite” isn't content to be just another high-stakes military drama. It's an unflinching, nerve-rattling descent into chaos that feels so authentic you might forget you’re watching fiction.
While the story's multiple perspectives are repetitive, "A House of Dynamite" wastes no time getting under your skin.
What begins as a routine day quickly unravels. Base commander Maj. Daniel Gonzalez (a stellar Anthony Ramos, "Highest 2 Lowest") and his crew exchange casual banter before spotting a previously undetected intercontinental ballistic missile near the western Pacific. At first, they shrug it off, thinking perhaps it's another North Korean test or, as White House Situation Room official Adm. Mark Miller (a cool Jason Clarke, TV's "Murdaugh: Death in the Family") jokes, "probably some hotshot billionaire on his jet."
Elsewhere, Capt. Olivia Walker (an effective Rebecca Ferguson, "Dune: Part Three") is distracted by her sick son as she arrives at work, unaware that her day--and the nation--is about to unravel. The president (a composed Idris Elba, TV's "Hijack") is briefed on the escalating threat while General Anthony Brady (Tracy Letts, TV's "The Lowdown"), Deputy National Security Advisor Jake Baerington (Gabriel Basso, "The Strangers: Chapter 2"), Secretary of Defense Reid Baker (Jared Harris, TV's "Foundation"), and FEMA official Cathy Rogers (Moses Ingram, "The End") scramble for answers.
When the anti-missile system fails and the incoming warhead locks on Chicago with 20 minutes to impact, panic gives way to paralysis and there is still no word on who launched it.
Bigelow stages these moments with surgical precision, grounding the rising tension in routine details and sharp exchanges. She remains a master at blending documentary-style realism with cinematic urgency. Every decision feels like a gamble, every silence, a countdown.
The ensemble cast delivers across the board. Ramos brings both command and vulnerability to a man torn between duty and conscience. Ferguson infuses Olivia with quiet resilience that humanizes the machinery of bureaucracy. Elba plays the president with gravitas and restraint, embodying a leader forced to make impossible choices.
"A House of Dynamite" leaves you shaken not by spectacle but by its shattering sense of plausibility. Bigelow doesn't sensationalize the apocalypse; she renders it disturbingly ordinary. What lingers after the credits roll is the haunting "what if."
Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays now at 5:17 p.m. and 6:47 p.m. on radio station KFBK 93.1 FM and 1530 AM.
Watch This Trailer For
"A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE"
