A Houseful of Dynamite (2025) – Dynamite? Phusssssss.

Genre: Military Drama

Platform: Netflix

Director: Katherine Bigelow

Cast:  Idris Elba.  Rebecca Ferguson. Gabriel Basso. Jared Harris.

Time : 1 hour 55 minutes

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 Plot:  Just another day in America. A defence unit in Alaska traces a launch of  ICBM missiles to a location, most probably in North Korea. They follow procedure and launch the interceptors which are supposed to destroy both missiles. One incoming missile is destroyed. The other interceptor fails. The second warhead  is supposed to impact Chicago. The US National Command Authority goes through it process for a retaliatory strike…

Ever had an experience of buying a packet of crackers/ fireworks, fully trusting the brand ? The first two explode well ? and later almost all of them turn into fizzles and go phussss? Thats what this movie feels like.

Kathryn Bigelow is an excellent director who has some terrific thrillers to her credit. It however looks like she has gone the Nolan way to give a “military Rashomon” effect , however with each angle of the story being told in the same way. Duh !

The US military has criticised this film for being inaccurate , which is as good as stamp of approval for the film and will surely provoke everyone’s curiosity, as it did mine. We only know what happens till the incoming warhead hits Chicago . We are not shown what happens after that.

Hmm. That takes away the very premise of watching the film. So what is the film about ? About the well designed US military and civil procedures which we are supposed to be dazzled by ? (and it does dazzle us in the short term while we are watching it). About how ‘decent Americans’ suddenly find their world turned upside down ? About how at the end of the day , the people who deal in death in millions are also ‘humans’ as they realise that there will be consequences ? About the international geopolitical scenario and how we are a hair trigger away from a worldwide nuclear holocaust after the end of the Cold war ? About how “designated survivors” are all evacuated to a deep underground facility known as “Raven Rock“ ?

You figure it out.

The film shows the same 30 minute sequence from the launch of the “rogue” missile till its impact on Chicago from multiple ‘Acts’ – for two hours, the same story. The dialogues are all the same in each ‘act’ .

• First act shows the radar screens and what happens inside the Alaskan military facility tasked with tracking the incoming missiles and firing the GBI – Ground Based Interceptors.
• Second Act shows the same situation from the point of view of the Military Command facility where all the Generals are advocating a swift response.
• Third act is to show the same situation from the point of view of the Speaker
• Finally the last Act is to show the entire 30 minute events from the view of the President , Idris Elba.

We do not know what happens after the President authorizes the response. So basically you watch the same event in half an hour sections. (Hello – Nolanji – kya kar diya aapne?). 

This is a technically proficient film but after the second Act when you start realizing that you are watching the same events , you no longer care what’s about to happen. Basically as a viewer you feel hopelessly cheated for watching the same events from different perspectives for one hour and fifty minutes.

Yes – we should all vote for a world without nuclear arms – we will all live happily ever after , once we are finished watching the film. The film tries to be a “Military Rashomon” – now thats a new genre eh? – but ends up as yet another case of style over content ☹ .

Watch it ONLY if you have nothing else to do and want to seriously waste one hour and fifty five minutes of your precious viewing time. 

Script – 3 out of 5

Story – 3 out of 5

Direction – 3 out of 5

Total – 3 out of 5