Venice 2025: First Reactions to Kathryn Bigelow’s A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE

The Venice Film Festival continues today, and reactions to some of the highly anticipated world premieres are hitting social media.

A House of Dynamite is a political thriller directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by Noah Oppenheim. It stars Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Gabriel Basso, Jared Harris, Tracy Letts, Anthony Ramos, Moses Ingram, Jonah Hauer-King, Greta Lee and Jason Clarke.

In the film, when a single, unattributed missile is launched at the United States, a race begins to determine who is responsible and how to respond.

A House of Dynamite had its world premiere in the main competition of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on September 2nd, 2025, where it was nominated for the Golden Lion. It will have a limited theatrical release in the US on October 10th, before streaming globally on Netflix on October 24th.

Here are the first reactions our of Venice:

'A House Of Dynamite' Review: Kathryn Bigelow's Urgent Warning For Mankind Is So Plausible It Just May Scare You To Death - Venice Film Festival https://t.co/l5r1DM6ODk
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) September 2, 2025

#Venice: Kathryn Bigelow's explosively entertaining cautionary tale about the U.S. government's response to a fictional-in-premise-only nuclear attack will ruin your day. You're welcome.

Read our Critic's Pick review for "A House of Dynamite": https://t.co/E7YYhKwLZo pic.twitter.com/XuOQWsPhvd
— IndieWire (@IndieWire) September 2, 2025

‘A House of Dynamite’ Venice review: Idris Elba heads Kathryn Bigelow’s ambitious nuclear age thriller. By @JonathanRomney #Venezia82 https://t.co/TgAt5T7Bpq
— Screen International (@Screendaily) September 2, 2025

'A House of Dynamite' Review: Kathryn Bigelow's Riveting Thriller Is a Nuclear Nightmare https://t.co/f74JxLcL9x
— TheWrap (@TheWrap) September 2, 2025

'A House of Dynamite' Review: Kathryn Bigelow's Nuclear Thriller Is a High-Tension Potboiler With Pretensions https://t.co/lCwiXli780
— Variety (@Variety) September 2, 2025

'A House of Dynamite' Review: Idris Elba and Rebecca Ferguson in Kathryn Bigelow's Precision-Tooled, Viscerally Unsettling Nail-Biter https://t.co/pFvaT8cX53
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) September 2, 2025

#AHouseOfDynamite: formal brilliance, gripping atmosphere and yet politically shallow & narratively clumsy. A film strong as a record, but trapped in it. Kathryn Bigelow return is sadly not a triumph. Netflix gains prestige, not sadly not more substance. #Venezia82 pic.twitter.com/aTf2uv3E7G
— Mia Pflüger (@justmiaslife) September 2, 2025

A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE is a riveting experience, with thrilling sequences of intense drama as decisions are made during a crisis. That power does fade as events progress, and the finale ends with a muted note that’s a tad underwhelming. Solid performances in a gripping procedural. pic.twitter.com/LBhMEOBeos
— Josh Parham (@JRParham) September 2, 2025

Venice 2025: Kathryn Bigelow's 'A House of Dynamite' is Staggering https://t.co/PlqFxS9Ryo #Venezia82 #AHouseofDynamite #KathrynBigelow #nuclearwar pic.twitter.com/hkl6JdonXC
— Alex @ #Venezia82 (@firstshowing) September 2, 2025

‘A House Of Dynamite’ Review: Kathryn Bigelow Returns With Another Explosive Political Thriller [Venice] https://t.co/Bb5O2C6qL4
— The Playlist (@ThePlaylistNews) September 2, 2025

Kathryn Bigelow's real-time nuclear war thriller is brilliantly constructed and gripping as hell. It also bears an uncanny resemblance to the noughties TV classic https://t.co/oTSiOH5uS5
— British GQ (@BritishGQ) September 2, 2025

Marc van de Klashorst has a decision to make while watching Kathryn Bigelow's cautionary tale A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE, a film in which the structure helps underline its questions, but works against its dramatic impact #Venezia82 https://t.co/VjM3aExjJP pic.twitter.com/xe8ens76CV
— IntlCinephileSociety (@ICSfilm) September 2, 2025

Featured