Netflix viewers are seriously divided, following the release of A House of Dynamite. Directed by Katherine Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty), the film, which landed on the streamer on Friday, 24 October, stars Idris Elba (Hijack, Heads of State), Rebecca Ferguson (Dune, Mission: Impossible – Fallout) and Gabriel Basso (The Night Agent). Enjoying early success on Netflix, A House of Dynamite may have become the number-one movie on the platform; however, fans aren’t totally convinced that it’s worth a watch.

woman in blue sit on phone© Eros Hoagland/Netflix
Rebecca Ferguson as Captain Olivia Walker in A House of Dynamite

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), one raved, “Watching A House of Dynamite on Netflix, it’s so [expletive] good,” while a second agreed, “A House of Dynamite on Netflix is phenomenal.” On the flip side, however, several viewers branded it a “waste of time”, owing to its final moments.

“@netflix I’m cancelling my subscription for a month to punish you for the ending of A House of Dynamite,” declared a disgruntled streamer. “The #1 movie on Netflix right now is A House of Dynamite. Figured it was worth a watch… WTF!?!? It’s literally a movie with NO ending! Complete [expletive],” added another. Here’s what we know about the film that’s sparked widespread debate… 

What is A House of Dynamite about?

According to Netflix’s official synopsis, “When a single, unattributed missile is launched at the United States, a race begins to determine who is responsible and how to respond.”

A tale told in three segments and from three different perspectives, the film begins with the perspective of the White House Situation Room, before moving to the United States Strategic Command, and ending with the President’s (Elba) point of view.

three men walking, two hlding guns© Eros Hoagland/Netflix
Gabriel Basso stars as Jake Baerington

“Eighteen minutes to decide the fate of the world and yet limited information [with] which to do so,” director Katherine Bigelow told Netflix’s Tudum. “We see into the halls of power, where highly competent individuals are confronted with confusion, chaos, and helplessness.”

Echoing this sentiment, screenwriter and producer Noah Oppenheim added, “One of the big things that we wanted to showcase in making this film is how little time there would be for the United States government, or any government really, to respond to a nuclear attack.

Anthony Ramos as Major Daniel Gonzalez © Eros Hoagland/Netflix
Anthony Ramos as Major Daniel Gonzalez

“During that same 18 minutes, we wanted to show what was happening throughout the entire apparatus of the government.”

Boasting a star-studded ensemble cast, Idris Elba plays the President of the United States, while Rebecca Ferguson portrays Olivia Walker, a senior officer in the White House Situation Room, and Gabriel Basso inhabits Deputy National Security Advisor Jake Baerington. Rounding out the cast, Jared Harris, Tracy Letts, Anthony Ramos, Moses Ingram, Jonah Hauer-King, Greta Lee, Jason Clarke, Kaitlyn Dever and Willa Fitzgerald also feature.

Katherine Bigelow wanted an open ending

Rest assured, you won’t find any spoilers here. However, with fans voicing their frustration over the film’s cliffhanger ending, Bigelow revealed why she approached it the way she did, noting that it was always meant to spark conversation.

two pilots in plane© Eros Hoagland/NETFLIX
The film is told in three segments and from three different perspectives

“I want audiences to leave theatres thinking, ‘OK, what do we do now?’” the award-winning director explained. “This is a global issue, and of course, I hope against hope that maybe we reduce the nuclear stockpile someday. But in the meantime, we really are living in a house of dynamite. I felt it was so important to get that information out there, so we could start a conversation. That’s the explosion we’re interested in — the conversation people have about the film afterwards.”