A Hollywood Ode to Eco-Terrorism

How to Blow Up a Pipeline is a taut thriller about a group of highly motivated stupid people who decide to do something dangerous. The film, and its protagonists, are inspired by the Swedish left-wing academic Andreas Malm’s 2021 nonfiction manifesto of the same title, which calls on climate activists to abandon nonviolent protest in favor of violence and sabotage. In the book as in the movie, blowing up a pipeline is supposed to do two things: discourage investors and reveal that Big Fossil can be put out of business … somehow. Perhaps unintentionally, the movie reveals a great deal about the dark heart of climate extremism.