REVIEW: A House of Dynamite (2025 Film) - Starring Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Gabriel Basso, Jared Harris, and Tracy Letts

Review by Jon Donnis

Kathryn Bigelow's A House of Dynamite sets out to explore the nightmare scenario of a nuclear missile threatening the United States, presenting the story through three overlapping perspectives: Capt. Olivia Walker in Washington, the military generals at STRATCOM, and the President himself. Each segment covers roughly the same thirty minutes of escalating crisis, creating a structure that, in theory, promises a fresh take on political thrillers. It's an intriguing approach, letting audiences see the mounting tension from multiple vantage points, but in practice, it feels like the film struggles to fully commit to its own narrative ambition.

The first third, Inclination Is Flattening, situates viewers in the White House Situation Room with Rebecca Ferguson's Capt. Olivia Walker. Ferguson brings credibility to her role as an officer tasked with making life-and-death decisions in real time, balancing calm authority with the human vulnerability of someone watching the clock tick down on a city. Moments like her phone call to her family humanise the stakes, reminding viewers that behind government protocol are individuals with personal lives on the line.

The second part, Hitting a Bullet With a Bullet, shifts focus to STRATCOM, led by Jared Harris as Secretary of Defense Reid Baker and Tracy Letts as General Anthony Brady. This segment emphasises military precision and the frantic attempts to identify the missile's origin. Gabriel Basso's Jake Baerington serves as a moral and procedural compass, urging caution in the face of incomplete intelligence. These scenes are tense and methodical, highlighting how military and diplomatic considerations collide when nuclear escalation looms. The interplay with Russia's foreign minister and the scramble of B-2 bombers adds realism, and Bigelow captures the meticulous calculations and near-misses that define such high-stakes decision-making.

Finally, A House Filled With Dynamite examines the President's perspective as Idris Elba navigates evacuation, familial concern, and the unbearable weight of a potential nuclear strike. Anthony Ramos' portrayal of Major Daniel Gonzalez at Fort Greely adds another layer, showing the human cost of technical failure when interceptors fail to launch. This segment is emotionally charged, particularly in the subplot of Secretary Baker trying to save his daughter. The President's indecision over retaliation leaves the narrative unresolved, which is meant to underscore the moral ambiguity and pressure inherent in such decisions, but instead results in a frustrating anticlimax.

The performances are consistently strong. Ferguson, Elba, and Basso carry the film with convincing authority and subtle emotional depth, while Harris, Letts, and Ramos provide strong support. Their portrayals lend credibility to the story even when the film itself struggles with pacing and scope.

However, the production has clear limitations. The film looks and feels like a TV miniseries squeezed into 90 minutes. Some of the tension is undercut by low-budget visuals and staging that don't match the gravity of the narrative. The narrative structure, while innovative, sometimes feels repetitive, as the overlapping perspectives cover similar ground without adding sufficient new information. And the decision to withhold the President's ultimate choice leaves viewers dissatisfied, as the film ends without resolution, undermining the suspense built across three perspectives.

A House of Dynamite is a film of contrasts: a fascinating premise undermined by uneven execution, a talented cast navigating a plot that never quite delivers on its promise, and a structure that is ambitious in design but frustrating in practice. The moral, procedural, and human stakes are all present and often compelling, but the anticlimactic ending and TV-like production ensure the experience remains unfulfilling. For all its effort and occasional brilliance in character moments, it is an instantly forgettable film. I score it 4 out of 10.

Out Now on Netflix

REVIEW: Heads of State (2025 Film) - Starring John Cena, Idris Elba and Priyanka Chopra

Images Courtesy of: Prime Video via Premier PR

Review By Jon Donnis

There's a moment early on in Heads of State where Idris Elba's British Prime Minister and John Cena's US President nearly come to blows in a very expensive room. It's petty, ridiculous, and almost cartoonish in its energy. That moment is the clearest signal of what kind of film you're watching. It isn't aiming for sharp satire or political commentary. It just wants to entertain, and most of the time, it does exactly that.

Directed by Ilya Naishuller, the film runs on the not-so-subtle idea of what would happen if world leaders had to go full action hero to save the day. Elba plays Sam Clarke with all the clipped control you'd expect from a career politician, while Cena leans hard into the brash charisma of Will Derringer, a movie star turned President who seems only half aware that he's now running a country. They're mismatched in every way, which of course makes them the perfect accidental team once disaster strikes.

The setup is broad but efficient. Following a disastrous PR stunt meant to fix their icy public dynamic, Clarke and Derringer end up marooned behind enemy lines after an attack on Air Force One. Suddenly it's not just about keeping up appearances. It's about staying alive long enough to uncover the real threat and stop it from spiralling into something far worse.

From there, the film barrels across Europe, taking in dingy safehouses, chaotic train journeys, and glossy summits. Naishuller keeps the action moving at a steady pace, peppering in enough gadgets, betrayals, and explosions to stop things from going stale. Some of the set pieces feel deliberately over the top, but the performances keep everything grounded just enough to stay watchable. Elba and Cena have great timing together, flipping between mutual irritation and unlikely respect with ease.

Priyanka Chopra Jonas adds sharpness as Noel Bisset, the MI6 agent stuck trying to babysit the two of them while cleaning up the mess. Her role isn't just there for exposition or moral grounding either. She gets her own moments of impact, including a couple of standout fight scenes that don't waste time showing how capable she is.

Visually, the film does a lot with its budget. The locations feel varied and textured, and the pace rarely stalls for long. That said, the runtime could have used a trim. Just past the halfway point, there's a noticeable lull where the momentum threatens to sag under the weight of convoluted double-crosses and backstory. A tighter cut might have made the whole thing feel sharper.

There are also one or two moments where the CGI doesn't quite hold up under scrutiny, particularly during an early crash sequence. But these blips don't derail things. The tone is light enough, and the stakes exaggerated enough, that the odd visual stumble can be forgiven.

What's more interesting is the way the film flirts with the idea of leadership and ego, even if it never digs deep. Clarke and Derringer aren't heroes in the traditional sense, but they are men who have to work out, very quickly, what it means to be responsible when there's no one left to blame. That thread never takes centre stage, but it lingers in the background, adding a little depth to all the banter and bullets.

Heads of State isn't trying to reinvent anything. It's a fast-moving, character-driven buddy film wrapped in a globe-trotting political thriller. The laughs are frequent, the chemistry is strong, and the pace mostly holds. There are a few out of place anti Trump references, for example the bad guy is the America First idea, and of course Globalism will save the day, just ignore that nonsense that really felt shoehorned in to keep some Amazon higher ups happy.

I'd call it a solid 8.5 out of 10.

Out Now on Prime Video - https://amzn.to/44reO0N

PREVIEW: Heads of State (2025 Film) - Starring Idris Elba, John Cena, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Carla Gugino

Image Credit Prime Video

By Jon Donnis

John Cena and Idris Elba are back together, but this time they're not battling each other in a squad of supervillains. In Heads of State, premiering on Prime Video on 2 July 2025, they're leading the charge in a globe-trotting action comedy that throws diplomacy out the window and leans into mayhem with style. Elba plays UK Prime Minister Sam Clarke, Cena is U.S. President Will Derringer, and the two are stuck with each other whether they like it or not. The pair's frosty public rivalry ends up becoming a real problem when a powerful foreign threat targets both of them, forcing these two stubborn leaders to trust the only people they can rely on: each other.

Image Credit Prime Video

The setup is pure buddy-action nostalgia, soaked in all the energy of those big, brash 90s pair-ups. There's no shortage of explosions, wild stunts and high-stakes drama, but it's all underpinned by sharp, fast-moving comedy that plays off the personalities at the centre. Neither Clarke nor Derringer are particularly good at sharing the spotlight, but they're going to have to figure it out on the run if they want to stay alive. Priyanka Chopra Jonas plays MI6 agent Noel Bisset, joining the chaotic road trip as a much more competent counterbalance, while the supporting cast is full of familiar names including Carla Gugino, Jack Quaid, Stephen Root, Sarah Niles, Richard Coyle and Paddy Considine.

Image Credit Prime Video

Ilya Naishuller, who directed Hardcore Henry and Nobody, is behind the camera here, so expect a kinetic visual style that doesn't take itself too seriously. The film blends that gritty, action-heavy approach with the kind of quick-fire banter that drives buddy films when they're at their best. That mix of physical comedy and intense set pieces gives the whole thing a high-octane rhythm, never really letting the characters, or the audience, catch their breath.

Image Credit Prime Video

Cena and Elba bring a natural chemistry, picking up where they left off in The Suicide Squad, though this time they're not on opposing sides. Probably. They're both listed as executive producers too, so it's clear they're throwing themselves into the project with more than just the usual on-screen bravado. The screenplay is by Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec and Harrison Query, based on a story by Query, and it's full of the kind of clever twists and big laughs that come with two oversized egos locked in a situation neither one can fully control.

Image Credit Prime Video

Heads of State looks like the kind of film that revels in its own chaos. It's a chase, a fight, and a buddy story all rolled into one, with plenty of snark and a good helping of tension between its leads. With a clear affection for the genre it's playing in, and a cast that knows how to walk the line between serious action and comic timing, it's set to bring a different kind of diplomacy to screens this summer.

Coming to Prime Video Globally on 2 July 2025