{"id":2112983,"date":"2025-10-24T15:34:06","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T15:34:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2112983"},"modified":"2025-10-24T15:34:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T15:34:06","slug":"the-a-house-of-dynamite-plot-point-that-makes-zero-sense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/the-a-house-of-dynamite-plot-point-that-makes-zero-sense\/","title":{"rendered":"The A House Of Dynamite Plot Point That Makes Zero Sense"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong>Contains spoilers for &#8220;A House of Dynamite&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Kathryn Bigelow&#8217;s movies over the past two decades have mostly been reflections on war and politics. This includes &#8220;The Hurt Locker,&#8221; which earned her the best director Oscar, and &#8220;Zero Dark Thirty,&#8221; both of which are among the\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.looper.com\/997323\/the-best-female-directed-movies-of-all-time\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:best female-directed films of all time;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">best female-directed films of all time<\/a>. Her latest work definitely falls into that camp with its nuclear-tinged thriller vibes. If you missed\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/movies\/articles\/only-rundown-house-dynamite-191240350.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:Looper's &quot;A House of Dynamite&quot; rundown,;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\">Looper&#8217;s &#8220;A House of Dynamite&#8221; rundown,<\/a>\u00a0it sees American officials respond to a rogue nuke heading toward Chicago. They try to knock it out of the sky with a Ground-Based Interceptor, and things turn murky when people begin to discuss the chances of a GBI actually being successful.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In the film, it&#8217;s stated that the GBI only has a 61% chance of hitting the nuke and saving Chicago. This is driven home when Secretary of Defense Reid Baker (Jared Harris)\u00a0exclaims, &#8220;It&#8217;s a f***ing coin toss?\u00a0This is what $50 billion buys us?&#8221; Of course, 61% is slightly better than a coin toss. Regardless, this statistic clashes with the running theme of the movie&#8217;s second chapter, which is titled &#8220;A Bullet Hitting a Bullet.&#8221;\u00a0This invokes the image of two moving bullets somehow colliding with one another, which has a nearly 0% chance of happening. So, which is it?\u00a0Are the odds of the United States&#8217; defense system knocking out a nuke 61% or 0%?\u00a061% doesn&#8217;t exactly help you sleep at night, but it&#8217;s far preferable to the other option. The muddling of this plot point makes the stakes a little unclear.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Read more: <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.looper.com\/36840\/shocking-movie-endings\/?zsource=yahoo\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:The Most Shocking Movie Endings;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">The Most Shocking Movie Endings<\/a><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">The 61% figure in A House of Dynamite seems to be accurate<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Major Daniel Gonzalez kneeling on a road in A House of Dynamite &#8211; Eros Hoagland\/Netflix<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;A House of Dynamite&#8221; drives home the idea that, in the nuclear age, we&#8217;re all just one button-push away from total annihilation. It&#8217;s sobering to think that the odds presented in the movie (the 61% chance that is, not that 0% chance confusingly implied by the bullet analogy) are apparently pretty realistic. <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/a-house-of-dynamite-battling-a-nuclear-nightmare\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:CBS News;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">CBS News<\/a> spoke with Lt. Gen. Dan Karbler about the missile defense system portrayed in &#8220;A House of Dynamite,&#8221;\u00a0to which he said, &#8220;That kill vehicle will go and basically run itself into the incoming missile. That closing velocity can be in excess of 30,000 miles an hour. I think the movie has it pretty accurate when they talk about 61% chance of killing it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Other figures seem to back up the &#8220;coin toss&#8221;\u00a0perspective that these missiles have about 50\/50 odds of successfully destroying a nuke in transit. Of course, there are many factors that can influence the likelihood of success, such as how many missiles are airborne and how far away they&#8217;re coming from. Whatever the actual odds are, the overarching message of\u00a0Kathryn Bigelow&#8217;s film\u00a0remains clear. <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/movies\/articles\/house-dynamites-ending-going-leave-230000496.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:The ending of &quot;A House of Dynamite&quot;;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\">The ending of &#8220;A House of Dynamite&#8221;<\/a>\u00a0leaves some lingering questions, but one thing is certain:\u00a0If a country ever attacks another with a nuclear device, the world changes forever for the worse. Even if there were a 100% guarantee of knocking a nuclear missile out of the sky, there&#8217;s still the question of what to do next&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">If you enjoyed this article, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/subscribe.looper.com\/newsletter-syndicated\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:sign up to our free newsletter;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">sign up to our free newsletter<\/a> for the biggest movie and TV news delivered straight to your inbox. You can also <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=looper.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:add us as a preferred search source;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">add us as a preferred search source<\/a> on Google.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Read the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.looper.com\/2005218\/house-of-dynamite-plot-point-zero-sense\/?zsource=yahoo\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:original article on Looper;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">original article on Looper<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Contains spoilers for &#8220;A House of Dynamite&#8221; Kathryn Bigelow&#8217;s movies over the past two decades have mostly been reflections on war and politics. This includes &#8220;The Hurt Locker,&#8221; which earned her the best director Oscar, and &#8220;Zero Dark Thirty,&#8221; both of which are among the\u00a0best female-directed films of all time. Her latest work definitely falls [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2112984,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[353965],"class_list":["post-2112983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-kathryn-bigelow"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/The-A-House-Of-Dynamite-Plot-Point-That-Makes-Zero.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2112983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2112983"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2112983\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2112985,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2112983\/revisions\/2112985"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2112984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2112983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2112983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2112983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}