Pentagon frets over Kathryn Bigelow’s nuclear doomsday film

The plot of A House Of Dynamite, the new thriller from Oscar-winning American director Kathryn Bigelow, hinges on US missile defences failing to knock down a nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) headed for Chicago.

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Actor Idris Elba plays the US President in A House Of Dynamite directed by Kathryn Bigelow.

(PHOTO: NETFLIX)

The Pentagon agency responsible for the more than US$50 billion (S$65 million) system of ground-based interceptors in Alaska and California designed to avoid just such a scenario is not happy about it. The movie, starring Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Gabriel Basso and Anthony Ramos, is available on Netflix.

A Missile Defense Agency (MDA) internal memorandum argues that the doomsday scenario depicted in the film is inaccurate. The Oct 16 memo, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg News, is meant to make sure agency leadership “has situational awareness and is not ‘surprised’ by the topic, which may come up in conversations or meetings”.

The object of the MDA’s angst is depiction of US missile defence as ineffective. This is especially in the light of the fact that US President Donald Trump wants to spend tens of billions of dollars on missile defence, including with his bid for a Golden Dome defensive umbrella.