A House of Dynamite

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, A House of Dynamite follows several officials, including Rebecca Ferguson’s Olivia Walker, Jared Harris’ Reid Baker, and Greta Lee’s Ana Park, as they scramble to respond after a missile is launched at the United States. It’s a fairly electrifying premise that’s employed to watchable yet periodically disappointing effect by Bigelow, as the filmmaker, armed with Noah Oppenheim’s screenplay, delivers an erratically-paced thriller that explores the buildup to said bomb’s arrival from three separate perspectives – with this questionable structural choice bringing the proceedings to a dead stop each time the point of view shifts (ie the forward momentum and palpable tension is essentially wiped out). There’s nevertheless little doubt that A House of Dynamite boasts its fair share of engrossing sequences and stretches, and it’s clear, too, that the movie benefits substantially from the efforts of a first-class roster of performers – with, especially, Tracy Letts’ often riveting turn as a pragmatic general remaining a continuing highlight within the proceedings. The inclusion of an abrupt and almost comically unsatisfying conclusion does ensure that the whole thing ends with a rather pronounced whimper, which essentially (and effectively) cements A House of Dynamite‘s place as a good (but not great) endeavor that generally feels like it should be a whole lot better.

*** out of ****