In his last outing as Superman, Christopher Reeve took on the threat of nuclear war. In the film A Quest For Peace, released in 1987, Superman sought to intervene and deescalate a world on the brink of Nuclear War. But in the real world, there is no Superman and there are plenty of factions sitting on enough munitions to send the world into ruin.

What would happen if one of those weapons was unleashed? How would the United States respond? How would the world respond? Would any of us survive? It’s clear Noah Oppenheim, the writer behind the new Netflix film A House of Dynamite, has given that some thought.

In the film, directed by Kathryn Bigelow, a weapon is fired. That leaves the military, state department, and the President of the United States scrambling. In less than 20 minutes, they have to weigh the evidence, discuss options, and be prepared to make the next move.

All that creates a story with real weight and stakes. It’s a film with a decorated cast—including Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Gabriel Basso, Jared Harris, Greta Lee, Anthony Ramos, and Tracy Letts, among others. It’s a tense thought experiment that could be one of the most provocative films of the year.

Bigelow is no stranger to making deep, thought-provoking films. She delivered the Best Picture winner in The Hurt Locker and a great exploration of larger ideas in Zero Dark Thirty. This is another film that is about big ideas and asks big questions. It doesn’t present an answer, but rather asks the audience to consider where we are in the world.

The tension and power in the production is a credit to the organized chaos in the way the story unfolds. You feel the tension building in real time, looking at all the options. We see this story unfold from multiple perspectives, with overlapping narratives filling in the gaps and creating some beautiful moments and some incredible tension.

It’s also a credit to the script. Oppenheim has looked at the United States and its response to an attack before, scripting the series Zero Day earlier this year. This presents another dire scenario and beautifully captures the tension and chaos that it provides. It is meant to provoke some deep thoughts and emotions, and it worked well for me.

This is a well-crafted film. The performances are strong. The production keeps you rooted to the story and the story itself will have your attention from the jump. But there are aspects that might not work for all viewers.

The story overlaps. We get the same incident—and the same 20 minutes of chaos—from several points of view. That may be a distraction for some viewers. Some may also be rankled by the ending. This isn’t about telling you something, it’s about asking you to ponder something. If that doesn’t work for you, there will be some frustration.

It worked for me. This was an unexpectedly tense and emotional ride. It’s not a perfect film, but it’s incredibly engaging and one of the better film experiences so far in 2025.

A House of Dynamite is now streaming on Netflix.

Matthew Fox is a graduate of the Radio, Television and Film program at Biola University, and a giant nerd. He spends his free time watching movies, TV, and obsessing about football. He is a member of the FSWA. You can find him @knighthawk7734 on Twitter and as co-host of the Fantasy Football Roundtable Podcast.