If, for some reason, director Kathryn Bigelow and distributor Netflix decided to cut out the final two-thirds of their new film, A House of Dynamite, then they might have had a serious contender for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. Of course, they didn’t do that, so what’s left is a pretty good film that immediately reaches its apex, only to then gradually deflate from there. It’s a disappointing fact, but I’d bet that any filmmaker would commit a host of unholy acts to be given the skill of dramatic storytelling that Bigelow possesses throughout that first act.

A House of Dynamite arrives nearly a decade after Bigelow’s last feature, Detroit, the final entry in a fact-based trilogy about the perils of modern America. That movie tackled racial politics through the lens of the 1967 Detroit riots, with the two preceding films, The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, using the power of immediacy to take a moral stand on our involvement in the Middle East. Within those three films is a near-perfect balance of entertainment and education, made possible by the combination of Hollywood bravura and gritty journalism.

Although this latest feature is not based on historical events, it doesn’t make it any less true. Screenwriter Noah Oppenheim, formerly the senior producer of Today Show and president of NBC News, has clearly done his homework, filling his script with rigorous procedures, acronyms, and chains of command throughout the United States federal government. The opening captions state that cooler heads started to prevail after the Cold War, with the world’s superpowers decreasing their nuclear arsenals in an attempt to avert a potential crisis that could not be undone. “That era is now over,” flashes next across the screen, as now thousands of little red buttons can wipe out all life on Earth. This is the story of what happens when that fateful day finally arrives.

It begins at an air defense installation in Alaska. Major Daniel Gonzalez (Anthony Ramos) and his team identify a single ballistic missile crossing the Pacific Ocean towards the United States. They pull out their instruction manuals and start transmitting their findings to the White House Situation Room, where Captain Olivia Walker (Rebecca Ferguson) assembles the leaders of the Executive Branch. Secretary of Defense Reid Baker (Jared Harris) and General Anthony Brady (Tracy Letts) mull the options, eventually presenting them to POTUS (Idris Elba) for a final decision. All of this must take place within eighteen minutes, all while the missile is headed directly for a major American city.

To lend the power of perspective to this condensed timeline, Bigelow and Oppenheim go through these motions on three occasions, each time offering a different viewpoint. The first cycle is about the shock of discovery, with everyone doubtful that what they’re seeing is actually true. The second is about gathering facts, establishing defense measures, and following long-established procedures. The third and final cycle is about reaction, walking the walk after talking the talk. What level of response is required? Rare, medium, and well-done are the options given to the president, each placing the entire world in the palm of his hand.

My introductory point about diminishing returns is derived from this repetition. For as much as the second and third cycles do their best to offer tidbits of new information by focusing on different characters, they can never escape the feeling that we’re just retreading what’s already been established. Phrases are repeated, and similar themes of hopelessness are copied between generically constructed characters. The several times that Ferguson’s character clutches her son’s dinosaur toy did not make me care more about what would happen to her personally. Volker Bertelmann’s score would be accused of stealing from Conclave had he not also been that film’s composer.

The second cycle involves a moment at Gettysburg, which is still the bloodiest battle in American history, with over fifty thousand casualties across both sides. Now it’s a tourist attraction, with children and families walking the fields with smiles on their faces as they snap pictures and cheer on reenactments. The next war will not offer any such future luxuries, obliterating the board before anyone could make another move. While it may not be as succinct as originally promised, Bigelow has conveyed that message with fierce resolve. We’re all sitting in a house of dynamite, and the fuse is only getting shorter.