What is the government for, anyway? What is it supposed to do? If you’re a libertarian or an old school Republican, you think its function should be minimal. Government should safeguard the rights of citizens, and otherwise butt out of everyday life.. If you’re a liberal, you believe its function should be more active. You think government ought to offer a robust social safety net, as well as more strenuously regulate our quasi-capitalistic system.

Whether your political persuasion is left, right, or somewhere else, you likely agree that one of the nation’s core responsibilities is protecting the populace from harm. A populace that feels its rulers don’t care about them is a populace inclined, sooner or later, to start hauling out guillotines. We want steely-eyed, competent professionals ready to stop incoming danger, and also engage in some righteous ass-kicking.

But what if the government can’t protect us? What if the threat comes out of left field, and everything goes catastrophically wrong, and all the good options melt away and only ghastly options remain? That’s the premise of Kathryn Bigelow’s thriller A House of Dynamite. It’s a movie that begins with precision engineered dread, and unfortunately ends with a wet fart.

Captain Olivia Walker (Rebecca Ferguson) probably feels like she has the better end of the deal. While her husband has to get their sick young son to their pediatrician, Walker cruises into work. Today, she’s the acting oversight officer for the White House’s Situation Room. Her job is to monitor any geopolitical developments, and, as always, there are developments. 

Chatter is discovered between the Iranians and their proxies. China prepares for a military exercise. North Korea is quiet, silent almost, after a successful test of a ballistic missile. Then, the early warning radar spots it – an ICBM. Due to a glitch, nobody knows where it launched from. But they know where it’s going. In eighteen minutes, the missile will hit the city of Chicago.

From there, we watch different people attempt to manage an increasingly unmanageable situation. One of them is Gonzalez (Anthony Ramos), the commanding officer of Fort Greely, an Alaskan military installation responsible for neutralizing incoming threats with interceptor missiles. One of them is Baerington (Gabriel Basso), a Deputy National Security Advisor who’s positive the threat can be negotiated. One of them is Brady, a General in charge of Strategic Command who’s positive the time is right for a retaliatory strike. And one of them is the President (Idris Elba), who has very little time to make one of the most consequential decisions in human history.

Like Spike Lee, Kathryn Bigelow is one of those directors who have earned a place in the top tier of filmmakers, yet who is criminally overlooked. She knows what she’s doing, particularly when it comes to suspense and action. That means it’s no surprise that the first thirty-something minutes of A House of Dynamite is as intense as anything else released this year. Bigelow is a master of ratcheting up tension, doling out necessary information, and taking the time to show us why it matters and what the characters think and feel about it all. She also does outstanding work with a huge cast of characters who mostly never meet each other. Bigelow introduces us to radar station technicians, an upbeat Admiral, a terrified FEMA official, and more. Then, she clearly explains what they do, how they’re all connected, and how their actions affect everyone else. It’s frankly brilliant filmmaking, and that must mean the film is an all-timer, one of the best of 2025, right?

Well…yes and no. Part of the issue I have is with the structure of the screenplay written by Noah Oppenheim. When the missile is first spotted, we spend eighteen minutes with the on-the-ground teams, the ones directly getting raw information. When the clock reaches zero, we go back eighteen minutes and spend time with presidential advisors and the STRATCOM staff. Then, when the clock hits zero, we go back eighteen minutes a third time and view decisions from the top with the Secretary of Defense (A heartbreaking Jared Harris) and Idris Elba’s POTUS. The decision to structure the screenplay that way is clever, in that we see how smart, competent professionals navigate a nightmarish scenario. The bad news is, each time the timeline is re-set, tension drains from the film. Then more time needs to be taken to focus on new characters while also jacking the tension back up. It’s an extremely gutsy decision, but I think the execution doesn’t quite work.*

Despite that, the cast is absolutely dialed into the nerve-shredding intensity. Tracy Letts is quickly becoming one of my “Yes, this movie is now better because he’s in it” actors. His General Brady isn’t a foaming at the mouth warmonger. His impulse to hit numerous other countries as hard as possible may not be the right call, but his reasoning is hard to argue with. Idris Elba does good work as a President acutely aware he’s in way over his head. I also liked Anthony Ramos, and he’s fascinating as a commander simultaneously grappling with an existential threat and the fallout from a conversation with his possible ex. For me, the standout performance is Rebecca Ferguson as Walker. Watch her non-verbal scene after she realizes how events are likely to play out, then calls her husband and begs him to flee from populated areas as fast as possible. In five seconds or so, we see Walker’s face crumple in grief and terror. Then we see her make a decision, and her game face smoothly slides back on. It’s an astonishing performance from a top-tier actor. 

I don’t have high confidence in the raw competence of the current Presidential administration. Yet it occurs to me that I’m being deeply unfair. While I might not like the guy occupying the Oval Office, I have to believe in the people who make up the government itself. I have to believe that in the darkest possible moments, the best and brightest aspects of people will emerge. I have to believe that, because the alternative A House of Dynamite leaves me with is quiet dread.

*I’ll tread lightly to avoid spoilers, but the execution is also part of the problem with the film’s resolution. Bigelow has said in interviews about the film that, “The antagonist is the system we’ve built to essentially end the world on a hair trigger.” From a thematic perspective, the script works perfectly. As far as delivering a satisfying conclusion, after getting so involved with these people and glimpses of their personal lives, I found it to be intensely frustrating.

Tim Brennan Movie Critic

Tim has been alarmingly enthusiastic about movies ever since childhood. He grew up in Boulder and, foolishly, left Colorado to study Communications in Washington State. Making matters worse, he moved to Connecticut after meeting his too-good-for-him wife. Drawn by the Rockies and a mild climate, he triumphantly returned and settled down back in Boulder County. He's written numerous screenplays, loves hiking, and embarrassed himself in front of Samuel L. Jackson. True story.