The Wasteland Reviewer

A House of Dynamite (2025) Written Review

What would happen if the United States were attacked in a big way? There are so many powerful individuals in our government, but we would need them to step up and do something in such a wild situation. But human beings are…well, human beings. They will not always do what they are supposed to in such a high-pressure situation. All the twists and turns of such a situation can push the most powerful and highest-ranking individuals in a situation to the brink. Such an intense and high-stakes situation would need quite the filmmaker to take the reins and deliver a thriller worthy of such a situation. You would get a filmmaker who has already navigated complex war scenarios and black-ops missions of high priority targets…Kathryn Bigelow. 

What does Bigelow do to maximize this thrilling and harrowing story of impending doom upon an unknowing nation? First and foremost, Bigelow delivers on the thrills. This is one of the most intense and uncomfortable cinematic experiences you will have all year. There is a docudrama approach to A House of Dynamite that makes this whole storm feel so incredibly authentic. Cinematographer Barry Ackroyd works together with Bigelow to craft a story that explores and completes this mission. The camera weaves into intense debriefs and conversations like the audience is a fly on the wall. The score from Volker Bertalmann works well to give the film a strong foundation to build raw emotion. There is a healthy mix of terror and emotion as each of these individuals navigate this impending doom in their own way. For a two-hour film, A House of Dynamite moves well as it explores these horrific events from different periods and places. Some of the momentum is lost though when the narrative is diced and cut up to redo the story again. 

Does the screenplay from Noah Oppenheim explore such a scenario in a meaningful and poignant way? Bigelow’s film navigates plenty of themes, characters, and stories that give A House of Dynamite plenty of experience to explore them. The themes of the film are rich and relevant in a time when many folks wait in fear for such a horrific occurrence to finally happen. The film explores the inherited fear of the unknown in us as human beings while exploring the dark places life will take you when your timing is clicking away. Oppenheim’s script balances the technical and logistical issues in such a scenario but the raw human moments with our loved ones are the ones that resonate so deeply in this film. There is a good core of humanity to anchor this whole experience down. The story structure where the audience experiences the impending impact of the bomb from three different perspectives undercuts the narrative tension that is built so well at the beginning of each of these three versions of the story. This is no Rashomon so instead this storytelling choice worsens the experience of the film. There is also a lack of lasting impact as the film avoids a real villain in the story as well as lacking a truly satisfying ending.

How does this star-studded cast bring this claustrophobic thriller to life? Rebecca Ferguson is the first of the main players who gets some quiet and tender moments with her family. This early sequence gives Ferguson the space to build empathy. Ferguson gets to shine with some truly raw emotion as she feels helpless to save many of them. Tracy Letts is a big and imposing presence who is one of the Generals in the Pentagon. His role is to deliver fleeting moments of personality. Jared Harris is the Secretary of Defense whose estranged daughter is in the crosshairs of this horrible display. Harris gets to shine in a few key moments to get the audience as well. His last few moments are so raw and hard to experience. Idris Elba delivers a fragile and sensitive performance as the President of the United States. His vulnerability and struggle to make the hardest of calls is so relatable and gives these deeper connections. There are plenty of other speaking roles that will grab your attention as well. No Gabriel Basso, Anthony Ramos, Moses Ingram, Jonah Hauer-King, and more fill out this supporting cast so well (with even a few surprising up their sleeve. 

Is A House of Dynamite another impressive achievement for Bigelow to boast about? Not quite…but this is still a thrilling and exciting experience. Oppenheim’s script has some shortcomings (especially in the approach to the storytelling) but overall, it is still full of acting, business, and other such opportunities. The cast is legit with so many talented performers injecting impressive and humanistic turns into this slick and thrilling flick. Bigelow might not be at her peak with A House of Dynamite, but she is still delivering something quite thrilling.