A House of Dynamite from Kathryn Bigelow, the Academy Award-winning creator of such American political thrillers as The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty, and the more uneven Detroit, is a taut, ensemble-driven thriller that wants to hold a mirror up to the global powder keg we’re all currently living in. It’s smartly cast, technically precise, and structured around a compelling premise: what happens in the wake of a rogue nuclear missile headed for U.S. soil? And yet, despite its ambition to provoke, A House of Dynamite fumbles the landing. Or more accurately, it refuses to make landfall at all, leaving audiences with more questions than answers. That may be the point – being intentionally provocative here seems the modus operandi – but it results in less than satisfactory storytelling. Read More
