A House of Dynamite (2025)

The Fuse That Never Lit - A House of Dynamite review by griggs

A House of Dynamite looks great — sharp performances, slick production, and a real sense of confidence. But once the novelty wears off, it starts to feel like a loop. Told through overlapping perspectives, each segment revisits the same crisis from a new angle — clever in theory, less so in practice. You keep waiting for fresh insight, but it’s mostly déjà vu — just lit better.

There’s no denying the talent involved — the cast delivers and the production is top-notch — yet it never really ignites. The repetition dulls the tension, leaving you admiring the craft more than the storytelling.

Stylish, ambitious, unmistakably Bigelow — A House of Dynamite smoulders when it should detonate.

Riveting Political Thriller - A House of Dynamite review by GI

A powerful political thriller that shows the same 18 minutes from different perspectives as a nuclear missile is suddenly detected heading for the USA. In those minutes we get to se the reactions and actions of the various teams and groups of the American military and political machine as they try to unravel what, who and why and how to deal with the very real situation of a nuclear strike on a major city. In typical Kathryn Bigelow style this is a gritty and tense drama that oozes authenticity and leaves a real sense of dread that the reality of the nuclear war threat is that it may start through the actions of one unknown belligerent. The film suggests all sorts of scenarios as to who and why the missile has been launched but more importantly that the systems that cost billions and billions of dollars to prevent such an attack and to stop it are randomly successful at best. The action all plays out in the various situation command and control rooms with Rebecca Ferguson as an Intelligence expert in one, Tracy Letts as the gung ho general who is all for a full counter strike on all the USA's enemies, Gabriel Basso as the stressed but thoughtful Security Advisor who advises caution, Jared baker the Secretary of Defence who realises his daughter is in the targeted city of Chicago and Idris Elba the US President who is left with the awful and frightening decision as to how to respond. The stakes are never going to be higher! Bigelow wants us to see how such an event may start and what the processes will be and she avoids showing the public or even the effects on them of the attack. This is about the protections that are relied on by humanity and placed as the responsibility of political masters is deeply flawed and potentially ineffective. A strong film that is quite riveting.