One Battle After Another Review: Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnum Opus of Well-Acted and Solidly Entertaining Epic

Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson isn’t kidding about bringing his One Battle After Another. Loosely inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s novel Vineland, this 162-minute epic, which reportedly cost at least US$130 million or so, journeys into a politically charged, yet action-packed and even darkly humorous odyssey, unlike anything you’ve seen before from Paul Thomas Anderson. It’s the kind of cinematic experience worth watching on the big screen, considering the movie is vividly captured on the larger VistaVision, along with Super 35mm formats.

The press screening that I went to was presented on IMAX, still good enough to immerse me into the movie right from the start. Anderson doesn’t waste time thrusting his audience in medias res with the left-wing revolutionary group dubbed the French 75, led by Perfidia Beverly Hills (Teyana Taylor), orchestrating a daring break-in into the detention centre near the US-Mexico border to free the caged immigrants. The opening scene showcases a firecracker of a performance from Taylor, who steals the show as the no-nonsense, take-no-prisoners Perfidia.

The first act whizzes by from one scene after another (no puns intended here), mixing action (the nighttime detention centre raid and the subsequent bank robbery) with elements of comedy and sexual tension. The latter is especially true with Perfidia’s initial encounter with Captain Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn) during a scene when she holds him at gunpoint. Well, let’s just say the gunpoint isn’t the only thing that happens here, leading to a frankly unexpected moment, I didn’t see it coming.

Then, there’s Bob Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio), who is also part of the French 75 group and an explosives expert. And Perfidia happens to be his girlfriend. It isn’t long before they finally have a baby daughter named Willa, and Bob particularly loves her so much. Everything has changed ever since he became a father, but not for Perfidia, whose undying passion for rebellion remains her top priority. She and her group continue to wreak havoc, and this ultimately puts Bob and their daughter in danger, forcing the two to lay low where the police and the army couldn’t find them.

Sixteen years later, Willa has grown into an adult (Chase Infiniti), who has the same rebellious streak just like her long-gone mother. She is trained in martial arts under the guidance of Sensei Sergio St. Carlos (Benicio del Toro), while her relationship with her father, who spends time slacking around at home somewhere deep inside the woods. They don’t get along well, often end up arguing and disagreeing with each other. But despite Bob’s years of substance and drug abuse, he still cares for his daughter. The past soon catches up to them when their enemy, Lockjaw, now ranked higher in a colonel position, is back to hunt Bob and Willa at all costs.

The cat-and-mouse chase begins, and what a chase it turns out to be. Willa is eventually captured, leaving Bob on a relentless quest to track her down with the help of Sensei Sergio. Bob isn’t exactly the brightest one. Definitely not the one that belongs to Liam Neeson’s school of no-nonsense, you-don’t-want-to-mess-with-such-a-father type. He’s a clumsy buffoon, even though his heart remains in place, and it’s hard not to root for his never-give-up attitude. DiCaprio’s typically tense performance is put to good use, but in a way that allows him to let loose and go haywire, notably a now-heavily promoted scene where he grows increasingly frustrated speaking in codes to someone from the French 75 on a payphone.

One Battle After Another is essentially a long chase movie amidst the fascism-heavy America ruled by a top-secret white supremacist organisation with higher-profile officials — among them played by Tony Goldwyn — running the show. Anderson doesn’t get heavy-handed on the political angle as he primarily uses it as a backdrop to propel a sense of dramatic urgency.

The same storytelling traits also allow him to show how hilariously absurd the grand plan of purging the unwanted society of foreign immigrants, radicals, revolutionaries and anyone who rebels against them, drawing most of the laughs from Bob’s perspective being forced to go through the ordeal. Anderson never lets his what-if vision of an authoritarian America get in his way of telling a resonant story about Bob’s love for his one and only daughter, Willa, even though they have grown apart, which remains the heart and soul of the movie.

Apart from DiCaprio and Taylor, Anderson equally brings out the best in the rest of his ensemble cast, including Sean Penn, who’s never been this entertaining playing an antagonist role as Colonel Lockjaw. The movie also features great supporting performances from the perfectly deadpan Benicio del Toro as the selfless sensei who doesn’t just help the immigrants but also supports Bob’s cause, and of course, Chase Infiniti’s breakthrough turn as the feisty Willa.

Technical-wise, One Battle After Another excels in every aspect, from Michael Bauman’s visually stunning cinematography to Jonny Greenwood’s eclectic choice of musical compositions, whose score serves as one of the movie’s highlights. The movie’s higher budget than usual, which may seem uncharacteristic for an auteur like Paul Thomas Anderson, is no accident. He fully uses it to his advantage, and it never crosses my mind that he demonstrates a genuine flair for thrilling action set pieces.

At one point, there’s a memorable car chase through the empty highway that undulates for seemingly endless miles. What makes the chase itself significantly propulsive is the way Anderson deliberately ratchets up the tension, suspense and not to mention, the adrenaline thrills with Greenwood’s ever-evolving score matches the gradual intensity of the scene.

His cameras even go as far as capturing the ominous dread of the car chase, with some scenes shot from the perspective of a bumper that shows how sinister it can look at the continuously wavy length of the concrete road snaking up and down. One Battle After Another is by far the best movie I’ve ever come across in 2025 and a must-see event, no matter if you enjoy Paul Thomas Anderson’s works or are a movie fan.