A House of Dynamite Reviews

I liked the rhetoric; if this happened, nobody would really have any idea what to do. There are not “adults” in the room or stalwart protectors who have it all figured out. No gods, only men. The ending still feels like a huge blue ball after retelling us the same story 5 times. I recognize the ending drives the point home, unmitigated uncertainty is all we’d have in this situation. But also a verbal “what the fuck” from everyone else in the room told me I wasn’t alone in my general dissatisfaction. Not bad, kinda wished I’d watched something else though if I’m honest.

Great build up..but to what? I won’t lie I might just be the wrong audience for this I will completely accept that. Honestly “meh” might be too harsh because I was gripped for a solid 30 minutes. It’s just that the movie replays the same scenario from different perspectives but still attempts to build the tension on the stuff we have already seen. Then like I said it leads to nothing, there is no pay off, it’s like anti Chekhov.

This review is the result of a few days journey. 80% of the way through the movie, I absolutely loved it. I was hooked, riveted, on the edge of my seat. The way Bigelow can capture you and hold tension for such a long period is so impressive. The acting performances were phenomenal, with such gripping emotion shown from everyone.

And then it ended. And I hated it. And I was so mad because the ending was so stupid.

However, I have been thinking about it consistently for the past couple days and I think with a more typical ending, it would not have had that effect. I would have said “yep great” and never thought about it again. Instead, the sense of tension and fear created by the film is still lingering with me.

I think I would have still preferred a different ending with a nice little bow on it, but I have come back around from loving it and hating it, and sit more in the middle of having enjoyed the journey as well as the questions it left me with.

I was completely absorbed, and when it suddenly ended..well, I was still picking my jaw up off the floor. The film builds tension through every character, only to leave us with unanswered questions that hit harder than any explosion. Performances are fantastic and perfectly cast.

It was so good in the beginning. It had a lot of like action and everything you were like tempted OK but the ending hello like either of us is gonna be a part two or I’m just gonna be disappointed so if there’s gonna be a part two really good but with no part two fuck no

Didn’t care for it, the entire movie follows 3 different perspectives but repeat the same storyline each time

Started good, first 30 mins or so, then just telling the same story from different perspectives. No ending or big finale. Watch a different film don’t bore yourself with this!!

Tense and unnerving premise that feels deeply researched as expected in a Kathryn Bigelow film. Definitely intended as a warning and reminder that many of our most complex systems and processes are ultimately helmed by very normal people. Use of a recurring storytelling structure only sort of works and there are definitely some issues with the story.

Kathryn Bigelow, back with a bomb... that didn't blow? In a lot of ways, this film reminded me of "Leave the World Behind", although I prefer that to this. The stacked casting, the handheld camerawork, the reverberant score, and the incisive dialogue—it had all the ingredients. Unfortunately, it didn't have the result. I get the narrative surrounding perplexed 'Armageddon' and the absolute paranoia of living in a house full of world-ending dynamite. I just didn't think it needed several similar perspectives telling the same story. It works for pacing, but not for overall satisfaction.

I did not enjoy watching this film, cool concept

Infuriating that they essentially replayed the first 30 minutes two more times with little information or even emotional weight added. This would have been really interesting as a short film while keeping the goal of the movie but the run time was just stretched out unnecessarily

First 40 minutes is a pitch perfect thriller. Reminds me of 2023’s Leave the World Behind, in that it’s an extraordinarily pretty veneer, but the inside is hollow. If this is what they were going for, then at least make it a cool tight hour. But no, unnecessary bloat.

DO NOT WARCH THIS MOVIE!!!! Never before did I feel like a move literally robbed me of 2 hours. This movie wasn’t just bad it was insulting. Netflix should remove it, not make it the #1 movie.

You will love this if you like rewatching the same 20 mins over and over again in different perspectives with no conclusion at the end. There is no “ending” in this movie.

I’ve never been edged by a nuclear missile before … don’t fancy it happening ever again.

Felt like they forgot the second half of the movie. Could have been spectacular but, it wasn’t.

Really didn’t care for the mockumentary style filming, I think it works for some genres but not this. Sure the first act gets you to the edge of your seat but it fizzles out.

6

Very frustrating as the movie just kept repeating itself from different perspectives with no ending. Just ended.

This movie really caught my eye with the doomsday sci-fi end of the world story. I was hooked for a good while and it keeps you on the edge of your seat, but the ending is truly horrible. I wouldn’t recommend wasting 2 hours of your time on this unless you’re really bored.

It was getting intense with three POV of them deciding to go ahead with the attack and the ending was abrupt. Kind of a let down!

Very interesting idea, and liked seeing the story from multiple perspectives on the same scenes. To avoid spoilers, I’ll stop there and not go into why I downgraded it to a Meh.