One Battle After Another explodes onto the screen as a bold, genre-blurring action thriller that hits with heart, tension and political fire. It is as must see and is undoubtedly one of the best films of the year so far and hotly tipped for Oscars. From its first frames it's clear director Paul Thomas Anderson is once again top of his game, crafting much more than just a chase movie and he's made a reflection of our fractured world, and you simply can't look away.
Leonardo DiCaprio plays Bob Ferguson, a former revolutionary living off the grid with his spirited daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti). When his nemesis Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn) resurfaces after 16 years and Willa vanishes, Bob is forced back into his old militant world to rescue her. Along the way he reunites with other ex-revolutionaries (including Benicio del Toro as an enigmatic ally), navigating betrayals, moral ambiguity, and a corrupt military force. The narrative arcs jump between past and present, blending fierce action, dark humour, and moments of tender father-daughter intimacy.
The cast are all excellent and DiCaprio, (The Revenant and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), is at his absolute best delivering a complex, layered and driven performance. Sean Penn, (Mystic River and Milk), brings a chilling gravitas to the antagonist, while Benicio del Toro (Sicario, Traffic) adds comedy, weight and mystery.
Stylistically it's vivid and ambitious the cinematography captures both sweeping landscapes and intimate close-ups. The excellent score by Jonny Greenwood crackles with tension, the editing keeps the pace relentless yet balanced, and the visual design shifts from gritty realism to surreal, almost hallucinatory sequences. Themes of revolution, identity, family, trauma, and political extremism thread through the film, asking how far one will go for those they love, and what costs the past demands of the present.
Critics have been raving and all the feedback has been positive with many are calling it one of the best studio-scale films of the year. It is one of those films that simply must be seen on the big screen to experience its scope, visual excellence and amazing sound.
You might like One Battle After Another if you enjoyed No Country For Old Men, Sicario and Children of Men.
