THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.

I had received a lot of mixed signals before my viewing of A House of Dynamite, from the early Oscars buzz to the Letterboxd rating that continued to drop the longer it was out, so I had no idea what to expect. A House of Dynamite oozed with promise, given its engaging premise and great cast (and I mean great—Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, and a host of other actors I like in smaller roles), and while it connected on some of its shots, the places that it missed were severe enough to hamper the film pretty badly.

The first act was borderline fantastic, ramping up the tension very quickly and giving each character something to care about. It’s always engaging to watch the inner workings of the government or military, and the situation room’s cool and calculated response to this threat was captivating. I was on the edge of my seat right up to the clock hitting zero, and then Kathryn Bigelow screwed it up.

The biggest mistake this movie made (and it was huge) was the story’s structure and editing. I can be in favor of seeing the same events from different perspectives, but the people whose perspectives they focused on were already so involved in the first act that I had to hear the same lines verbatim like three times. The second act was the biggest offender in this regard, feeling terribly superfluous and forgettable.

I did think the third act did a better job of introducing new information and context, and the scene between POTUS and Lieutenant Reeves in Air Force One was pretty outstanding. I was back on board by the final scene, only to be disappointed rather swiftly by the film’s non-ending.

I get that the film would’ve been an hour longer if you got to see the attack and the response, and I get that the film serves as more of a commentary and inside look at what we as the real US need to avoid, but as a moviegoer, I wanted a real ending, darn it!

A House of Dynamite was tense and scary and poorly structured and well-acted while underutilizing its main talent and simultaneously memorable and bland. I really don’t know what my lasting opinion of this film will be; I’m pretty sure I liked it, but even without seeing the rest of Kathryn Bigelow’s filmography, I’m confident that she has better stuff in her arsenal. I’ll make sure to check those out soon!