A House of Dynamite
October 24th, 2025
MOVIE: A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE
STARRING: REBECCA FERGUSON, JARED HARRIS, IDRIS ELBA, ANTHONY RAMOS, GABRIEL BASSO
DIRECTED BY: KATHRYN BIGELOW
AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 3 ½ STARS (Out of 4)
RATED: R
RUN TIME: 112 MINUTES
There isn’t a single explosion in Kathryn Bigelow’s A House of Dynamite, yet every moment feels like a bomb is about to go off, flooding the viewer with instant anxiety. It’s Bigelow’s ability to immerse her audience in that tension that makes her work so gripping. With a deep ensemble cast and a relentless sense of urgency, A House of Dynamite gives us a “fly on the wall” look at what it might be like if a nuclear weapon were on course to hit U.S. soil and how the powers within government would scramble to respond. No matter who’s in charge or what decisions are made, the film confronts a cold, bleak truth: humans can never truly be prepared for what comes next.
A fascinating element of Bigelow and screenwriter Noah Oppenheim’s approach is the film’s structure—it tells the same story from multiple points of view within the U.S. government. Throughout, we’re plunged into a maze of positions, jargon, acronyms, and shadowy meeting rooms. Much of it blurs together, but that’s the point: every role is another cog in the machine of “prepared readiness,” which ultimately proves hollow. No matter how much you plan, it’s never the real thing until it’s too late.
The first character we meet is Captain Olivia Walker (Rebecca Ferguson), head of command in the military situation room. Her child has a fever, her husband stays home to handle it, and she arrives at work expecting a normal day—until word breaks that a nuclear missile has been launched somewhere over the South Pacific. North Korea? Maybe. Russia? They claim it isn’t them. The urgent questions: how to stop it, who sent it, and whether retaliation is the answer.
From there, Bigelow shifts perspectives. The President (Idris Elba) phones in from an undisclosed location. The Secretary of Defense (an always-great Jared Harris) can’t believe how much money has been spent to be this unprepared, while General Brady (Tracy Letts) waits impatiently for the order to “push the button.” Meanwhile, in a remote Montana bunker, Major Daniel Gonzalez (Anthony Ramos) and his crew prepare to launch ballistic missiles with precision, and hope that, as Deputy National Security Officer Jake Baerington (Gabriel Basso) puts it, “this is like hitting a bullet with a bullet.” The clock ticks. The targets come into focus. But the decision only grows harder.
This entire apparatus is a reflection of how Bigelow herself operates. Her films strive for authenticity—even when that honesty offends. Zero Dark Thirty sparked outrage for its depiction of torture; Detroit was criticized for its unflinching portrayal of racial violence. Yet her work is never exploitative. It’s precise, immersive, and ruthlessly real. The only setback in A House of Dynamite is its repetition. Some scenes circle the same tension, making the experience feel slightly drawn out. Still, I left wanting more. Not necessarily an answer, but a sense of closure that never comes.
Perhaps that’s the point. There are no answers. How do we explain to children that a nuclear weapon could erase entire cities? Especially when the causes are male ego, ugly trade wars, toxic nationalism, or sheer brute force. How do we, as adults, accept that even the best preparation might not be enough? Bigelow doesn’t provide comfort; she provides clarity. A House of Dynamite is an explosive, nerve-wracking experience, and a chilling vision of the kind of military crisis we pray never comes to pass.
3 ½ STARS
A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE IS PLAYING ON NETFLIX FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24TH, 2025.
Written by: Leo Brady
