The cliffhanger ending of the new Netflix film A House of Dynamite has been getting polarizing reactions from audiences as it failed to provide a satisfying resolution to the story.
Oscar-winning filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow is back with a gripping political thriller movie featuring a star-studded cast of talent. However, while it has topped the charts in some countries around the world when it premiered last weekend, both the critics' and audiences' reception have been divisive due to script issues and the controversial ending.
Why the A House of Dynamite Ending is Getting Polarizing Reactions
A House of Dynamite ended with an ambiguous cliffhanger ending that did not reveal what decision the President of the United States made regarding the impending nuclear missile attack that was close to hitting Chicago.
The lack of resolution frustrated some audiences since it was a letdown after spending two hours watching the film, and they were hoping that it would leave them with a message once the credits rolled.
As one X user complained in their post, "A House of Dynamite ended like someone accidentally deleted the last 10 pages of the script. Worst ending in the history of bad endings. Two hours I’ll never get back."
Similar criticisms have been made by other audiences on social media, as they were frustrated with the lack of resolution and felt that it was one of the most disappointing endings they've seen in a movie.
However, some have also defended the ending and argued that the cliffhanger was part of the point and the film was an exploration of morality, rather than a straightforward story of a nuclear missile attack.
"I think A House of Dynamite accomplished its purpose. The ending is exactly what it needs to be. Anything else would undercut the message. The tension, the adrenaline, the morality. It all works frustratingly well. I will sit with this for a long time. Wow," one X user wrote.
Daniel D'Addario of Variety also argued that the ending was "a note of poetic understatement" and "by the time Elba makes an impossible choice — whether to sit pat and wait to see what happens, or to blindly fling weapons at political adversaries that may or may not be responsible — we know what he’ll decide. And we understand what the consequences will be."
Why A House of Dynamite Ended with a Cliffhanger
In a conversation with Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Bigelow explained why she decided to end A House of Dynamite with a cliffhanger and did not reveal whether an explosion happened.
She argued that the cliffhanger ending was meant to start a conversation regarding the issue of nuclear weapons and how we should deal with them in real life.
"I felt like the fact that the bomb didn’t go off was an opportunity to start a conversation. With an explosion at the end, it would have been kind of all wrapped up neat, and you could point your finger [and say] 'it’s bad that happened,'" the director said.
"But it would sort of absolve us, the human race, of responsibility. And in fact, no, we are responsible for having created these weapons, and in a perfect world, getting rid of them."
Bigelow iterated a similar statement when she explained the cliffhanger ending to Tudum.
"I want audiences to leave theaters thinking, ‘OK, what do we do now?’ This is a global issue, and of course, I hope against hope that maybe we reduce the nuclear stockpile someday. But in the meantime, we really are living in a house of dynamite. I felt it was so important to get that information out there, so we could start a conversation," she said.
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