Kathryn Bigelow is back. Eight years after 'Detroit', she has a new political thriller, a new distributor, and a nuclear countdown clock you will absolutely hear ticking in your head.
What is 'A House of Dynamite'?
It is Bigelow working in panic-attack mode: a real-time, three-part look at the U.S. government scrambling to respond to an unexpected nuclear missile launched at a U.S. city. No one knows who fired it or from where, and the people in the room only have 20 minutes to stop the unthinkable.
Idris Elba plays the President of the United States. Rebecca Ferguson is Captain Olivia Walker, one of the key military voices in the crisis. Noah Oppenheim (The Maze Runner) wrote the script, and the whole thing is Bigelow's first film to be distributed by Netflix. Inside baseball alert: Netflix giving Bigelow a limited theatrical run before it hits the service is not their usual play, and the UK getting it ahead of everyone else is even rarer.
Early buzz out of Venice
The film had its global premiere at the Venice Film Festival and critics have been into it so far. One 4-star review put it plainly:
"A terrifying nuclear thriller" that is "up there with her very best."
Release plan: where and when to watch
If you want it on a big screen, there is a limited UK theatrical release starting Friday 3 October. That is a full week before the global cinema rollout, so UK audiences get first crack. It is select cinemas only, so check local listings.
Prefer the couch? It lands on Netflix on Friday 24 October, three weeks after the UK theatrical bow. If you are in the UK and you are impatient, the early cinema window is your move. Otherwise, the streaming wait is short.
Who is in it?
- Idris Elba as the President of the United States
- Rebecca Ferguson as Captain Olivia Walker
- Gabriel Basso as Deputy National Security Advisor Jake Baerington
- Jared Harris as Secretary of Defense Reid Baker
- Tracy Letts as General Anthony Brody
- Anthony Ramos as Major Daniel Gonzalez
- Jonah Hauer-King as Lieutenant Commander Robert Reeves
- Moses Ingram as FEMA official Cathy Rogers
- Greta Lee as Ana Park
- Jason Clarke as Admiral Mark Miller
- Willa Fitzgerald as Abby Jansing
- Renee Elise Goldsberry as the First Lady of the United States
- Kyle Allen as Captain Jon Zimmer
- Kaitlyn Dever as Caroline Baker
- Malachi Beasley as SCPO William Davis
- Brian Tee as SAIC Ken Cho
- Brittany O'Grady as Lily Baerington
- Gbenga Akinnagbe as Major General Steven Kyle
- Francesca Carpanini as Staff Sergeant Ali Jones
- Abubakr Ali as Lieutenant Dan Buck
- Angel Reese as herself
Trailer status
Yes, there is a trailer. It is out now if you want a taste before the clock starts.
The quick version
'A House of Dynamite' opens in select UK cinemas on Friday 3 October and streams on Netflix from Friday 24 October.