After unleashing pulse-pounding thrillers like The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty, and Detroit, Kathryn Bigelow returns to light the fuse for A House of Dynamite, a political thriller centering on White House staffers grappling with an impending missile strike on America in real-time. Bigelow’s warning to the world about the threat and danger of nuclear annihilation got a press screening in Venice, Italy, on Tuesday, and critics are already reacting to the celebrated filmmaker’s cautionary tale.
According to Bigelow, A House of Dynamite addresses nuclear weapons, which she feels are a “global issue.” While the film’s goal is to entertain, Bigelow says A House of Dynamite aligns with her desire to “get that information out there,” referring to the dangers of weapons of mass destruction.
“Hope against hope, maybe we will reduce the nuclear stockpile someday,” she added, “but in the meantime, we are really living in a house of dynamite.”
The first reactions to A House of Dynamite are circulating on social media, with IndieWire saying Bigelow’s political thriller is an “explosively entertaining cautionary tale about the U.S. government’s response to a fictional-in-premise-only nuclear attack [that] will ruin your day. You’re Welcome.”
Josh Parham of Next Best Picture says House of Dynamite is “a riveting experience, with thrilling sequences of intense drama as decisions are made during a crisis. That power does fade as events progress, and the finale ends with a muted note that’s a tad underwhelming. Solid performances in a gripping procedural.”
Mia Pflüger says A House of Dynamite is “formal brilliance, gripping atmosphere and yet politically shallow & narratively clumsy. A film strong as a record, but trapped in it. Kathryn Bigelow return is sadly not a triumph. Netflix gains prestige, not sadly not more substance.”
Alex of First Showing heaps praise on A House of Dynamite, saying Bigelow’s first film in 7 years is “THE most intense film of the year! Gripping af, scary cinema. A Rashomon-esque triptych of stories about what would the U.S. government/military really do if a nuclear missile was fired at the U.S. 20 mins ticking clock hell. LOVED this! Incredible.”
A House of Dynamite will be released on Netflix on October 24. Rebecca Fergusson, Jared Harris, Idris Elba, Willa Fitzgerald, Anthony Ramos, Jonah Hauer-King, Greta Lee, Gabriel Basso, Jason Clarke, Kyle Allen, Tracy Letts, and Brian Tee lead the cast.
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