An easy candidate for the most divisive movie of the year, How to Blow Up a Pipeline is quite the incendiary film. Based on the novel of the same name by Andreas Malm, the movie follows a group of climate activists as they, as you might have guessed, blow up an oil pipeline to protest big oil’s impact on the environment. The novel came out in 2021 and quickly became a feature-length film due to the subject matter.
Climate change has been a major issue since before I was even born. It has since gotten worse, to a point where it feels more dire to make some sort of change than ever. Yet it has become such a politicized phenomenon that it feels like your belief or denial of it indicates your political leaning. As a younger man myself, it is so frustrating to hear each day that it shouldn’t be worried about or that the blame is on us normal people for showering too long instead of the companies and officials who continue to pollute our Earth. That’s why I was immediately drawn to this movie when I first saw its trailer.
What really impressed me was how spot on the cast and writing are. Everyone’s motivation is crystal clear, yet they all are able to stand out from each other. They come from different backgrounds yet are so passionate about this cause. This is extremely evident with Michael (Forrest Goodluck). He is Native American, and we all know America’s history with their treatment of Natives. He is able to channel that trauma and anger into such a believable performance.
The motivations for each character aren’t just political. That helped How to Blow Up a Pipeline not come off as preachy to me. It won’t stop the people calling this propaganda, but I think it’ll help those on the fence. The story is extremely interesting, and people should give it a watch, even if they disagree with the premise.
The tension in this movie was palpable. It wasn’t just worrying about the repercussions of their actions. This is just a group of twenty-thirty-year-olds dealing with explosives. I was on the edge of my seat just at the idea that they might make a mistake and blow themselves up. There are setbacks and adversity in their way which just got the goosebumps tingling in my arms. There are plot twists along the way that only add to the suspense.
Final Thoughts
How to Blow Up a Pipeline takes a stand and makes it point known. Sometimes peaceful protests aren’t enough to enact change. Sometimes there needs to be a force to drive it. How often have we heard “You gotta crack a couple of eggs to make an omelet”? This isn’t a movie that is going to radicalize people to go out and build bombs to blow up their local gas station. But I’d say this movie does a great job of sparking the conversation.
