"The very basic premise of Kathryn Bigelow's A House of Dynamite is gripping on its own: A single missile is launched at the United States, nobody knows where it's from, and the national security apparatus springs into action. Thankfully, the movie delivers on that promise. The director's latest, her first film in seven years, is an absurdly riveting thriller with the kind of ticking-clock, military-grade suspense the director does so well."
"Her technique gives Noah Oppenheim's jargon-heavy script conviction and urgency. I probably couldn't tell you much about what terms like launch azimuth and exoatmospheric kill vehicle and terminal phase and dual phenomenology really mean (not to mention the several dozen acronyms being tossed about), and I sure as hell couldn't say if they're being used properly here. But the film has an aura of technical accuracy, which is what matters."
A House of Dynamite centers on a single missile launched at the United States with an unknown origin, triggering a national security response. The film creates intense ticking-clock suspense through intercutting multiple arenas and a large ensemble while focusing on core dilemmas: whether the missile can be stopped, who fired it, and how the U.S. should respond. The screenplay uses dense technical jargon but conveys an aura of procedural accuracy, supported by confident performances that make the dialogue feel authentic. The film recalls past work about type-A officials and continues engagement with ethical and operational complexities of military and intelligence decision-making.
Read at Vulture
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