Review: 'A House of Dynamite' works best as a white-knuckle thriller

A House of Dynamite is based on a nightmare scenario. An intercontinental ballistic missile unleashed by an unidentified enemy has managed to evade detection and is making its way to the United States. The American response fails. The nuclear weapon sticks to its path.

Various war rooms in Washington, DC, with heavy-duty acronyms go into a collective huddle. At the White House, Olivia (Rebecca Ferguson) leads a team that is co-ordinating meetings with other high-ranking officials, including the unnamed President (Idris Elba), Defence Secretary Baker (Jared Harris) and military general Anthony (Tracy Letts). In Alaska, Daniel (Anthony Ramos) is commanding the military base that tries to intercept the missile.

Deputy National Security Advisor Baerington (Gabriel Basso) tries to advise the president against unleashing a full-fledged war on the possible culprits – North Korea, China, Russia, Iran, it could be anyone. Anthony tells the President to go all out against the bad guys. The Obama-like President is caught on the horns of a dilemma, unwilling to sacrifice a few to save many.

Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow’s first film in eight years is out on Netflix. Like her previous movies The Hurt Locker (2008) and Zero Dark Thirty (2012), Bigelow infuses A House of Dynamite with a high degree of plausibility. There is documentary-level attention...

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