X
- 2023
- R
- Neon
- 1 h 44 m
- 2023
- R
- Neon
- 1 h 44 m
Summary A crew of young environmental activists execute a daring mission to sabotage an oil pipeline.
Directed By: Daniel Goldhaber
- 2023
- R
- Neon
- 1 h 44 m
- 2023
- R
- Neon
- 1 h 44 m
How to Blow Up a Pipeline
76
6.0
Where to Watch
Summary A crew of young environmental activists execute a daring mission to sabotage an oil pipeline.
Directed By: Daniel Goldhaber
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 29 Critic Reviews
76
83% Positive
24 Reviews
24 Reviews
17% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 29 Critic Reviews
76
83% Positive
24 Reviews
24 Reviews
17% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
The electric, forthright How to Blow Up a Pipeline excels as both truly riveting entertainment and an energizing call to action, in part through the cleverness of its genre conceit: what could be a better fit for a story about collective action and fighting the system than a heist movie?
In a less interesting film, this would all be seen through the eyes of freshly radicalized documentarian Shawn (Scribner, black-ish), but Goldhaber amplifies the tension by keeping this an ensemble.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 31 User Ratings
6.0
61% Positive
19 Ratings
19 Ratings
13% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
26% Negative
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 31 User Ratings
6.0
61% Positive
19 Ratings
19 Ratings
13% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
26% Negative
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
A group of misfit environmentaists band together for a common cause: to blow up a pipeline and send a message to all those involved. Their motives and backgrounds vary, but their cause to protect and avenge their environment is what they have in common. Genuinely suspenseful and tensely performed by all involved, The film plays out surprisingly like a heist thriller, where the steaks feel high and the tension more than I suspected would be involved. It also was surprisingly not too politically heavy-handed, as this aspect seemed to take a backseat to the storytelling and thrills of it all As for the cast, everyone's so solid and on point here that it's impossible to single any one of these young actors out, although it was great seeing Sasha Lane and Forrest Goodluck in particular Once again, as they really haven't seemed to have done much since their breakout roles in 'American Honey' and 'The Revenant' respectively. This also happens to be their second collaboration together after 'The Miseducation of Cameron Post.' Overall, this is a solid film that really pleasantly surprised me and more ways than one and stands out as one of the most impactful films of the year for me so far!
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(Mauro Lanari)
Provocative, well-directed, naively subversive or subversively naive indie film.
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It’s not a manifesto, really, but a matter-of-fact portrayal of the palpable anger emanating from a betrayed generation.
How to Blow Up a Pipeline wants to pick a fight, and it does so with an appealing lack of artifice, its heart on its sleeve and its agenda in its punching fists.
These people seem real, even if their primary motivations are ideological. Perhaps more than they intended to, Goldhaber and the actors make the political personal. That’s a triumph of craft over appetites for destruction.
As a thriller channeling the deepest anxieties of its era, however, How to Blow Up a Pipeline feels urgently, unmistakably of its time.
As the action progresses, the film seems more concerned with the hitting beats of the story than sending its characters on an emotional journey.
This is a retro thriller about diverse people who collaborate to blow up a pipeline due to personal wrongs that were visited upon them by Big Oil. It's like a low budget Fight Club, with less emphasis on slick entertainment and more focus on a realistic portrayal of the high risk plan.
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75/100
One of the dumbest reviews I read about this movie was from IndieWire. I know, such pretentious people.
In it the reviewer said that the movie couldn't establish any of the characters, which I find laughable considering that the very plot automatically lets you understand that they are not what matters, it's their actions and the message they want to establish.
Come on, even the damn title tells you that. I don't know if that reviewer was expecting a compilation of deeper backstories to give another meaning to their actions, but his train of thought went a different way.
Personally, I think he was confused about the movie, and the same goes for anyone expecting a melodramatic exploration of what is essentially a pulsating, exciting and tense activist thriller.
How to Blow Up a Pipeline is a very good movie, but you have to understand up front that the message and the reasons they fight for is what this film is all about, not typecasting its characters into a mold of traumas.
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The intro of the atomic bomb ushered horror films built around the resultant radiation (Godzilla!). After working thru serial killers and haunted spectres, we're headed to a new subject: climate change. A group of 8 young people goes thru the titular procedure: We see them prepping all of the elements and carrying out the plan. There are moments of backstory, when we're allowed to see the motivations behind their commitment. Even so, there's virtually no real emotional connection, resulting in more of an procedural video that's sometimes mildly gripping and other times fascinating.
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Production Company
Chrono,
Lyrical Media,
Spacemaker Productions
Release Date Apr 7, 2023
Duration 1 h 44 m
Rating R
Tagline Explosive and incendiary. A movie so dangerous, those in power will want to keep to keep you away from it.
Awards
Indiana Film Journalists Association, US
• 4 Nominations
ReFrame
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Hamburg Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
