Panic. Terror. Sweat rolling down pallid faces. Tension mounts as clocks tick downward, each second feeling like an hour, a day, a lifetime. The point of no return draws near. Lives are at stake. Decisions made by a select few in the next few seconds and minutes that will decide the fate of thousands. Hundreds of thousands. Millions, even. The countdown rolls on, each lost second increasing the likelihood that a large portion (if not all) of humankind will perish under the shadow of that iconic symbol of our species’ most terrifying invention: the mushroom cloud of a nuclear explosion.

All of that sound familiar? Unsurprisingly, those images, emotions, and beats have been part of the countless films centered around nuclear weapons produced since their (hopefully) only use in war in 1945. The horror of a potential conflict fought with nuclear arms has inspired the morbid curiosity of filmmakers for decades, from classic dark comedies made during the chilliest years of the Cold War to epic biopics that reexamine the dawn of the atomic age. Academy Award-winning director Kathryn Bigelow has become the latest great filmmaker to harness those fears to create a dramatic cinematic tale, the recently released A House of Dynamite.

And, like so many of its genre predecessors, it has sparked widespread discussions of the possibility of nuclear war. But the reaction to this particular cinematic outing goes beyond the typical, broad, justified fears of such a conflict. The details of the response to a missile launch depicted have people loudly wondering just what would happen if somebody fired an ICBM at the United States.

Public Reaction to A House of Dynamite

(Warning: nothing in this article spoils anything specific about the film, but many of the linked sources will, so click at your own peril)

In addition to the praise heaped upon the film by many (but not all) top-tier film critics, A House of Dynamite has led to multiple outlets publishing articles and interviews discussing how closely the events depicted mirror what would actually happen in response to a nuclear missile attack on the US.

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While there are no real-world examples for the film to draw on, given that such an event remains in the realm of speculative fiction, it allegedly does get some things right.

Despite all that, experts in the field of nuclear weapons quickly pointed out that much of the film is based on the most extreme possible outcomes and circumstances that could only exist if multiple people, technologies, and systems all failed at the same time.

The US Military’s Response to A House of Dynamite

While there has been no official response to the film from the Department of Defense/War or any branch of the US Armed Forces, military insiders and experts dispute one of the key plot points the movie’s plot turns on: that America’s missile defense system has only a 61% chance of stopping an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile from striking our homeland.

In response, the DoD’s Missile Defense Agency (MDA) issued an internal memo that claimed a 100% success rate for America’s current ICBM defense measures. The disparity in these percentages comes from the timeframes used to measure success: the MDA based its claim on data from the last four tests of the system, while the number recited in the film is based on the system’s overall success rate since its inception.

There are reasonable arguments behind each side’s reasoning, all of which are intensified by the variety of opinions regarding President Donald Trump’s vehemently proposed, vaguely planned, and likely unfeasible proposal for a “Golden Dome” defense system that would theoretically protect Americans from any incoming missiles.

This Writer’s Response to A House of Dynamite

Wow. This was an intense film to say the very least. The score alone was nearly enough to induce a panic attack, to say nothing of the incredible performances from the entire cast from the A-listers with top billing (you put Rebecca Ferguson, Idris Elba, and the always compelling Jared Harris in the same film and I am guaranteed to watch) to the entire supporting cast (it features, among other great actors, not one but two members of the original cast of Hamilton, my fellow theater nerds!).

I haven’t loved all of Bigelow’s previous films, despite her consistent critical acclaim, but this one gets a whole-hearted two thumbs up from me. No matter how you feel about the military’s reaction to it, I definitely recommend giving this film a watch.

I won’t spoil anything, but don’t start it hoping for any sort of closed-ended story with a clear ending and aftermath. Most importantly, don’t assume you’ve seen the film’s last “holy sh*t” moment until the credits roll (seriously, I audibly and involuntarily muttered that very pair of words at something that happened mere minutes before the movie ended).

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