A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE
Starring: Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Jared Harris, Gabriel Basso, Tracy Letts, Anthony Ramos, Moses Ingram, Jonah Hauer-King, Greta Lee, and Jason Clarke
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
AMARÚ
Kathryn Bigelow knows how to stress you the hell out. She’s masterful at directing subtle intensity out of commonly mundane happenings until, seemingly out of nowhere, that build up grabs you by the throat. A House of Dynamite does that three times over, with Rashomon-style storytelling retreading a ticking-clock political timeline, and a huge ensemble of game performers, especially standout Gabriel Basso. He alone saves act two from feeling redundant after an explosive first, and helps maintain enough tension to make up for a flat final act. Even with its soft landing, Dynamite is another successfully gripping anti-war introspective for Bigelow.
ADRIANO
I love seeing director Kathryn Bigelow back in her wheelhouse of tense political thrillers, but A House of Dynamite was depressingly pointless. As well-researched as it seemed in its dissection of the US Government's response to an attack, I was waiting for the film to reach a purpose beyond bleak doom. But the ending is so abrupt that the rest of the film is one big waste of time, especially considering the utter lack of characters to emotionally latch onto (aside from maybe Jared Harris). So, suffice to say, this was an intense but disappointing return for Bigelow.
QUENTIN
A House of Dynamite starts off with a bang, a perfectly constructed first act that is taut and tense in all the best ways. However, acts two and three are presented in a nesting-doll structure that repeats itself, which results in diminishing returns as you see several scenes multiple times. Even through that repetition, there is almost zero character development, including some characters that serve no purpose whatsoever. Furthermore, the ending is so unsatisfyingly abrupt that you might think director Kathryn Bigelow forgot to shoot the script’s final pages. That first act, though… It’s too bad the rest of the movie couldn’t match its greatness.
NICK
A House of Dynamite is a film that could desperately use tension, which makes it hard to believe that Kathryn Bigelow – who is typically great at creating tension – directed this. Aside from a lack of urgency, the film features fairly bland characters that don't warrant any attachment (save, perhaps, Idris Elba's President of the United States). Then there's the editing... content wise, this is practically a short film on a loop from different perspectives. It may have worked if not for the above issues, but instead, it magnifies the film’s shortcomings. As for the end… oh, it seems I’ve hit my word limit.
ROBERT
Kathryn Bigelow is at a place where every time she releases a movie, it is a huge deal, magnified by the eight years since her last directing effort. Unfortunately, the wait was met with a paper tiger in the form of A House of Dynamite. The cast, the story structure, the score, and sound are all reminiscent of a prestige titan seen in Bigelow’s history, but as the plot unfurls, it becomes a word soup of acronyms, safety protocols, and on-the-nose metaphors. In 2025, for films in which Idris Elba plays a world leader, it is a true toss-up which is more logical.
KATIE
A House of Dynamite begins with an excellent first act, full of tension and expertly built suspense, and introducing us to interesting characters and a compelling, dread-inducing scenario. I didn’t mind the second time it takes us through the same events from a different perspective, but by the third, I was slightly frustrated, noticing the repetitiveness and that many of the characters didn’t seem to matter. The score is fantastic, and the performances are solid, but not enough new information is revealed over the three perspectives. The ending, which I was looking forward to after very nearly losing interest, is abrupt and unsatisfying.
BODE
It’s clear that director Kathryn Bigelow will forever be committed to holding a mirror up to America’s political landscape. A House of Dynamite continues that very mission by bringing a Rashomon-style approach to a doomsday scenario. On a moment-to-moment basis, it’s certainly watchable, even though the structure doesn’t entirely work, Bigelow still knows how to create tension, and she has formed an undeniably strong ensemble; however, in its repetition, the film fails to make a larger point about the severity of the situation, which isn’t helped by its total non-ending. It's pretty frustrating all around.
