Time: 112 Minutes
Age Rating: M – Offensive language & content that may disturb
Cast:
Idris Elba as the President of the United States
Rebecca Ferguson as Captain Olivia Walker
Gabriel Basso as Deputy National Security Advisor Jake Baerington
Jared Harris as Secretary of Defense Reid Baker
Tracy Letts as General Anthony Brady
Director: Kathryn Bigelow

Kathryn Bigelow’s newest movie in 8 years had a lot going for it. It was about an imminent nuclear missile heading for America as people scramble to figure out what to do, and has a great ensemble cast including the likes of Idris Elba, Rebecca Fergsuon and Jared Harris. A House of Dynamite turned out to be solid, though it wasn’t as great as I hoped it would be.

The most notable aspect about A House of Dynamite is its narrative structure. Again, the plot is about people trying to deal with a nuclear missile being fired at the United States, and the structure highlights how different people are reacting to this situation. In the first 40 minutes we focus on perspectives from certain characters as it counts down to the possible impact. At the end of this segment, it rewinds the clock and begins again, but from different perspectives, and then does it a third time. That first section was quite good and was effectively tense, but I found every subsequent section weaker than what came before. The movie becomes repetitive very quickly as it effectively repeats moments and conversations you’ve seen and heard before (except you view them alongside different people), and the tension drops considerably. Considering this and the large number of characters in play throughout this whole movie, the actual characterisation and character drama is kept to a minimum, even if the actors deliver strong work in their parts. Interestingly, the identity of the people who fired the missile in the first place is kept ambiguous. It deliberately avoids political details, motives, and allegiances, clearly more interested in how people would react and how they would attempt to deal with it. The problem is that I don’t think the movie said much of anything on that front either, and without any politics or political context, by the end I just didn’t feel like I got really anything from the movie. The ending will frustrate some people, it is on the more ambiguous side and deliberately avoids catharsis, and perhaps it would’ve worked in a far more effective movie that actually said more.

The stacked and talented cast is the highlight of the film, they all deliver, especially Rebecca Ferguson, Tracy Letts and Idris Elba. Unfortunately, the characters’ involvements often ended up being quite limited so oftentimes, there was only so much that each actor could do in their parts.

Kathryn Bigelow’s direction is solid, if not as great as some of her past work. The cinematography is fine, but fairly bland. The handheld camera movements and zooms are intended to make things feel tense and in the moment, though it never really raised the tension at all. Volker Bertelmann’s score feels like a rehash of his music for Conclave and All Quiet on the Western Front, overbearing and repetitive, but they at least helped to raise the tension or set a mood, A House of Dynamite’s music is considerably less memorable and less successful.

A House of Dynamite is a well made and initially tense political thriller with a committed ensemble cast, even if its plot structure does somewhat work against the movie.