One Battle After Another (2025) - Film Review

      **One Battle After Another, 2025**

      *Written and Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson*

      *Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, Chase Infiniti, Alana Haim, Shayna McHayle, Wood Harris, Tony Goldwyn, John Hoogenakker, D.W. Moffett, and Starletta DuPois.*

      **SYNOPSIS:**

      When their malevolent adversary reemerges after 16 years, a group of former revolutionaries comes together to rescue one of their own's daughter.

      In a film filled with exceptional cinematography and editing choices, the opening sequence of Paul Thomas Anderson's *One Battle After Another* (inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s *Vineland*) has a visually striking and significant presence in the narrative. A part of this impact is due to the fact that someone (likely Anderson) recognized the outstanding performance of Teyana Taylor in the gripping family drama *A Thousand and One* and not only cast her in such an expansive, ambitious project but also placed her in the very first shot.

      As her character, Perfidia, prepares for an activist mission (which includes aiding immigrants in detention centers and advocating for Black liberation), the scene transitions to Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, who is also a revolutionary and her partner, making his way to the same job but from a different angle. Their characters are deeply interconnected, driven by an intense attraction, as they prepare to carry out acts of rebellion, including planting explosives at a facility run by a hateful individual or attempting to infiltrate an immigration detention center where the grim realities of children imprisoned and separated from their families are starkly visible. While the film offers entertainment, it also reflects current societal issues. There is potent sexual chemistry between them, leading to intimate moments even as they strategize their next act of activism.

      When Perfidia becomes pregnant and gives birth, conflict arises as their visions for the future diverge. Perfidia feels increasingly confined by motherhood, frustrated that it interferes with her mission to improve the world, while her partner appears to have embraced fatherhood to the extent that he has largely stepped away from the struggle. She expresses a sense that bringing a daughter into the world has isolated her from him. Eventually, she makes the difficult decision to leave, which later jeopardizes the entire resistance when a plan goes awry and she becomes a pawn for the cruel and calculating Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw (an exceptional performance by Sean Penn), a monstrous white supremacist with a troubling obsession for Black women and a facade of contradictions.

      Without revealing specifics, an event occurs that propels the story 16 years ahead, bringing new identities to DiCaprio’s character, now known as Bob Ferguson, and his daughter, Willa (portrayed by newcomer Chase Infiniti, who stands out remarkably). Over these years, “Bob” has degenerated into a stoner completely out of touch with the world (he lacks a cell phone and forbids Willa from having one), living in paranoia while eluding enemies of the resistance, which still functions in some capacity.

      It wouldn’t be shocking to learn that Colonel Lockjaw has unfinished business with this family, but the reasoning is disturbingly horrifying. Luckily, the resistance has support, including Regina Hall’s Deandra, who is searching for Willa before the military thugs can reach her. This leads to chaotic street riots, a daughter grappling with her heritage, and DiCaprio embodying his signature style: expressing sheer stress as if under an avalanche of anxiety. “Bob” also gains support from Willa’s mentor (Benicio del Toro, providing a calm counterbalance to the frenetic characters around him), who is involved with his own group willing to assist. Everyone is engaged in their own struggle, ready to collaborate: it’s the essential way toward a more unified and improved future, all accompanied by an unforgettable score from frequent Anderson collaborator Jonny Greenwood.

      This prompts “Bob” to re-enter the revolutionary arena, where Father Time (and years of substance abuse) have rendered him a clumsy liability instead of an asset. If Liam Neeson had specific skills for saving or protecting loved ones in *Taken*, DiCaprio’s character seems to have lost all abilities apart from yelling threats at resistance operatives, promising to take drastic actions if they don’t provide the information he desperately needs—information that, due to his foggy memory, they can’t disclose. This portrayal is amusing, becoming one of the funniest ongoing jokes in recent cinema, even if things don’t improve for him with a firearm in hand.

      To clarify, the film also features spectacularly filmed action sequences, including a car chase that uses roads that rise and fall like hills, creating a rollercoaster-like effect that raises questions before revealing the brilliance of the choice. However, “Bob's” bumbling disposition isn