An odd mix of Groundhog Day meets mutually assured destruction.

A House of Dynamite is an interesting spin on the usual disaster movie genre, neither a character-driven narrative nor a bombastic spectacle of destruction. It was an engaging experiment, but ultimately an unsatisfying one.

The premise of Dynamite is simple: an early-warning system detects a missile launch in the Pacific. After some initial hand-waving dismissal of it being just another routine test, it becomes clear that the missile is a real threat. From the White House situation room to a remote missile defense battery, the story follows the tendrils of America's response.

The film is divided into three parts, each covering the same 20-ish minutes (plus some bracketing scenes) with a different set of characters. It's an interesting storytelling technique, but the army of characters makes it hard to get invested in any of them. People who seem to be the protagonists are all but discarded each time the narrative shifts. And while there are a few new tidbits revealed each time through, there's a significant amount of re-tread as well, with the same scenes just shown from a different character's POV. Ultimately, the whole film is a collection of loosely connected vignettes.

A few of the vignettes are pretty powerful, though, and this ultimately saves the film from mediocrity. In the first shift, Olivia Walker (played by Rebecca Ferguson) exudes competence as the intelligence officer coordinating the White House response. But all the while, she's worrying about the implications for her husband and young son. When she finally has a chance to warn them, it's a heart-wrenching scene. In another vignette, an analyst (played by Greta Lee) is called for her insights on North Korea. She's visiting the Gettysburg battlefield with her son, creating a contrast between the old war (with re-enactors firing muskets and cannons in the background) and the threatening new one. Idris Elba shines as the out-of-his-depth president who has to decide whether to issue a preemptive strike before the missile hits.

Overall, the film is a tense, gritty look at an all-too-plausible scenario. There are some shining moments. But the odd Groundhog Day style narrative, lack of depth in the characters, and the ending (no spoilers) all undermined its impact.

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