A House of Dynamite

A House of Dynamite presents the scenario of a nuclear strike against the United States better than A Sum of All Fears or any of its predecessors in the genre but, in the end, falls short of its potential.

The story's premise naturally puts forward a certain amount of tension and suspense in and of itself and the director has successfully delivered on these concepts in previous works. However, the narrative structure of the film takes much of the suspense out of its own story. Additionally, this structure cuts down the screen time of a number of characters and good actors ultimately leaving the viewer with a sense of some disappointment.

In the end, this is a decent movie that left a lot on the table.

The continual repetition of the original 20 min storyline took far too many Christopher Nolan-esque References for my liking.

The performances were all good, but knowing that this film isn't going to progress once you realise the ending in the first act left me feeling a little conned tbh. It's a shame because I think the drama up till then held my attention.

"House of Dynamite" is a bold film in terms of its structure, which I believe will be the most divisive element among viewers.

The film uses a flower narrative style. Which is a story told through differing perspectives that ideally come together like puzzle pieces to form a complete picture. When done right, this approach creates intrigue and mystery as each segment reveals something new. Unfortunately, that wasn't quite the case with "House of Dynamite."

Each perspective failed to add meaningful depth or new information to the overarching story. Instead, the same dialogue and moments were replayed multiple times, which quickly became repetitive and dull. I understand what the filmmakers were aiming for, but the execution never fully realized the potential of its structure. There were no fresh insights gained from the shifting perspectives just retreads of what we'd already seen.

The dialogue also felt overly on-the-nose and occasionally corny, with line deliveries that leaned too heavily into melodrama.

Where "House of Dynamite" truly shines is in its exploration of the moral and strategic decision making between individuals and departments. Those moments were far more engaging than the story's overall presentation.

In the end, "House of Dynamite" had the foundation of a great film, but its structural choices ultimately held it back from reaching its full potential.

A House of Dynamite was directed by Kathryn Bigelow, the mind behind Zero Dark Thirty and Detroit. Unlike the latter two movies, however, the former fails to deliver.

What another review calls a "flower narrative style" is not one of the ways that I care for a story to be told in film, but I do acknowledge that it has become somewhat fashionable in recent years. Additionally, the ending of the picture was as abrupt as it was deeply unsatisfying. I will not encourage anyone to watch it.

Watching this film is like being told you've got takeout for dinner, only to end up with casserole.

I'm sure there was some underlying creative thoughts from the director with this story line but it wasn't clever nor smart. They had a great idea right in their palms and they threw it all away.

The ending of this film has to go down in history as one of the most frustrating endings in all of cinema. I've felt unsatisfied and in absolute disbelief. You almost feel cheated as you've become so invested in the story to only be let down right at the end! (and that's an understatement!).

It's worth watching but prepare for heartbreak.