If you don’t know what an existential crisis is, I recommend you watch A House of Dynamite. This movie will pack that entire vibe in just 40 minutes. The movie itself features a runtime of 103 minutes, but we’ll talk about that a bit later. Now, let’s focus on the basics. This is Kathryn Bigelow’s latest war thriller after Zero Dark Thirty and The Hurt Locker. This woman is a force of nature. And the topic she chose for this movie could not have been more relevant. I mean, we’re in the fifth year of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and if the fucker decides to escalate, this is the next logical step. Not to mention all the other players who also have the capabilities to push civilization onto a deadly path.
At exactly 09.33 hours, SBX-1 early-warning radar detected an ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) in low orbit. And just like that, just another day in the office or on duty turned into something absolutely terrifying. To sum things up, A House of Dynamite shows you what would happen if the US detected a nuclear missile launch. We will be following various parts of the government and military as they scramble to respond to this event. There’s little action action in this movie. So, if you’re expecting something like those old-school nineties thrillers, you will be disappointed. If you’re expecting a phenomenal script, excellent performances, and a lot of tension, though, you’re in luck.
When it comes to the technical details, almost all of the experts agree that they are correct. So, you will get a window into the highest places and see how things work from the inside. The only issue is that we would most likely be looking at a bunch of missiles instead of just one. I guess that makes things even more fucked up. A House of Dynamite is a high-concept movie, for sure, but if you think that this premise cannot hold your attention for 103 minutes, well, you’re only half-right. I have to tell you right away that things sort of fizzle out toward the end. However, you’re going to have several full-blown existential crises by then.
The way Bigelow builds tension is just pure perfection. And then that tension increases and increases to almost unbearable levels. Of course, a huge part of this is the fact that this could happen in real life. In fact, it could be happening as you’re reading these fucking lines. It takes just about 20-30 minutes for an ICBM to reach any place on Earth. And if you count in a response time, you could be looking at a nuclear holocaust in just under an hour. What makes things even worse is the fact that you, as an ordinary citizen, would only learn about this when you start seeing the mushroom clouds. And just to make things clear, as I’m sure there are a lot of Fallout fans out there, no, that thumb trick wouldn’t work.
You would be fucked. Or end up as an immortal Ghoul, which isn’t so bad. Ahhh, nothing like foraging for bottle caps in the post-apocalyptic wasteland. As I previously mentioned, the cast was excellent. In the lead role, we have none other than Rebecca Ferguson, helped by the likes of Jason Clarke, Jared Harris, and Idris Elba. It was also a pleasure to see Gbenga Akinnagbe in a different type of role. You probably know him as Chris Partlow from The Wire or Carlson from The Old Man. With a script this good and Bigelow at the helm, you can expect a veritable symphony of great acting.
Finally, it’s time to talk about the movie’s biggest flaw, and that’s storytelling. A House of Dynamite tells the story of the first half hour after the detection of the missile from three different perspectives. This means that, toward the end, things will become quite repetitive. Especially since the novelty of the whole thing has sort of worn off by then. And the last two stories are simply not at the level of the opening act. This does impact the quality of the whole movie, but not significantly. I sure as shit enjoyed it, and I hope you will too. I mean, enjoyed might be the wrong word here, but you know what I mean.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Writer: Noah Oppenheim
Cast: Rebecca Ferguson, Jared Harris, Jason Clarke, Idris Elba, Moses Ingram, Willa Fitzgerald
Fun Facts: The man who wrote A House of Dynamite is Noah Oppenheim, current president of NBC News. He also wrote the scripts for The Maze Runner and Jackie.
Rating:
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32376165/
