The Pentagon wants everyone—especially service members—to know something right off the bat: the new Netflix thriller A House of Dynamite is not real. But the timing of the warning, and the energy behind it, is raising eyebrows.
The Missile Defense Agency sent out an internal memo to staff earlier this month, flagging the film as potentially misleading. The memo, first reported by Bloomberg News, doesn’t just clarify that the movie is fiction—it urges personnel to actively correct what it calls “false assumptions” about the U.S. missile defense system.
That might seem like an unusual move for a Hollywood drama. But then again, this isn’t your average popcorn flick.
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow—the same filmmaker behind Zero Dark Thirty—the movie plays out in a high-stakes, nail-biting scenario. A single intercontinental ballistic missile is detected flying over the Pacific. No one knows who fired it or why. American defense officials scramble to respond.
Within minutes, two U.S. interceptors are launched from Fort Greely, Alaska. One fails. The other misses. The missile keeps coming.
According to the movie, America is now out of options.
And that’s the problem.
The Department of Defense has taken issue with this central moment in the story. In the memo, officials point out that real-world interceptor systems have posted near-perfect accuracy in tests for several years. The movie, however, portrays them as unreliable and unstable. That, according to the Pentagon, could erode public trust in a system designed to keep the nation safe.
It also doesn’t help that the film claims those interceptors cost the U.S. $50 billion—a figure the Department disputes.
Throughout the movie, tension builds as military leaders debate the next steps. The fictional defense secretary (played by Jared Harris) says the odds of a successful intercept are basically a coin flip. His deputy compares it to “hitting a bullet with another bullet.” And with every second ticking down, the pressure mounts on everyone from field agents to the fictional President—portrayed by Idris Elba.
As chaos unfolds on-screen, the Defense Department wants to make sure no one watching mistakes it for reality.
In a statement released to Bloomberg, the Pentagon confirmed it was never consulted during the movie’s production. It also made clear that the film doesn’t represent the views or priorities of the current administration—now led by President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance.
Still, the filmmakers are standing by their work.
The Pentagon issued a statement criticizing Netflix new film A House of Dynamite, directed by Kathryn Bigelow, for inaccurately portraying the U.S. missile defense system as having a 50 percent success rate when officials claim modern interceptors “have displayed a 100% accuracy… pic.twitter.com/AUNg3iNQi0
— Randy Armstrong
(@rwarmst) October 25, 2025
(@rwarmst) Noah Oppenheim, the film’s screenwriter, responded to the controversy during an interview with MSNBC. He acknowledged the Pentagon’s concerns but said he “respectfully disagreed” with their assessment of the interceptors’ capabilities. According to Oppenheim, his script was based on extensive research and expert interviews.
“What we show in the movie is accurate,” he said. He didn’t name his sources.
The pushback from the Pentagon is raising some questions—and not just about the movie.
Why issue a memo now? Why stress so urgently that a film is fiction? And why mention the interceptor accuracy data at all, unless there’s concern the public might start asking questions?
So far, Netflix has not responded to the Defense Department’s criticism. And with the film already trending in the top 10, it’s not likely this conversation will die down anytime soon.
What’s clear is that A House of Dynamite has lit a fuse. Whether it burns out or leads to more debate remains to be seen. But for now, audiences are watching—and the Pentagon is watching them right back.
