‘One Battle After Another’ Is As Bold As Blockbusters Get

An incendiary spark of a film that feels both timely and timeless, the word ‘monumental’ doesn’t even begin to describe Paul Thomas Anderson’s truly remarkable One Battle After Another.

Both politically propulsive and wildly entertaining, the latest film from the man who brought us other (anti-)American epics like There Will Be Blood immediately heralds itself as one of the 21st century’s best blockbusters. One Battle After Another is an audacious reminder of what cinema can be, and a rallying cry for what it could be.

The film follows Bob Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio), a semi-retired revolutionary previously known as Ghetto Pat who belonged to a group known as the French 75. After his wife Perfidia (Teyana Taylor) rats out the group to the insane Colonel Steven Lockjaw (Sean Penn), he goes into hiding with his daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti). But when Lockjaw resurfaces 16 years later to hunt down the last of the French 75, Bob is drawn back to battle once more.

What’s immediately apparent about One Battle After Another is how charged it feels. The opening moments of the film capture a raid on an immigration detention centre, filmed with the energy of a heist film in collaboration with cinematographer Michael Bauman and a sensational score by Johnny Greenwood. The fact that this detention centre looks exactly like its real-world counterparts can’t be ignored – from the get-go, Anderson immediately signals his political intentions.

A searing, politically charged film

Indeed, I’ve rarely seen a blockbuster as willing to declare that the American state apparatus is one based on violence as One Battle After Another. Our revolutionary protagonists are fighting against injustices that we’re literally watching get live-streamed to our phones daily, giving the film a particularly timely edge.

Alas, Anderson – who also wrote the film – pulls no punches in assessing the systemic violence that’s built into the system of American governance. Though it doesn’t name drop any political leaders, its specificity in depicting the violence they inflict onto the population means that One Battle After Another is an already culturally pernicious work that feels like it directly addresses the political climate it’s releasing into.

But even outside of its bold political stances, this is a film that’s wildly entertaining. This is a film that can be extremely funny and absolutely exhilarating at different points, without ever feeling like these two tones are at odds with one another.

The action is particularly stunning, with pursuits that leave your stomach lurching and gunfights that have you instinctively holding your breath. The third act of the film has one of the best movie car chases I’ve ever seen, utilising the American landscape in a truly sensational way.

The fantastic cast of One Battle After Another

No small part of that rests with Leonardo DiCaprio, who’s doing some of his best work in years throughout One Battle After Another. His portrayal of Bob as a thoughtful, world-weary antifascist is full of heart and hilarity, relying heavily on his underrated physical and written comedy skills.

Sean Penn is also a real standout, playing Colonel Lockjaw as a sniveling fascist with a deeply ingrained sense of insecurity (the film’s depiction of its other white supremacists is hilarious for how ridiculous it makes them look). It means that Lockjaw strikes an unusual balance as an antagonist, in that he’s both a terrifying presence that hangs over the film and a source of constant comedy from his pathetic sense of machismo.

The wider ensemble are also great; Teyana Taylor is cinematic dynamite as Perfidia, Benicio del Toro’s appearance as martial arts sensei Sergio is absolutely delightful, and Chase Infiniti as Willa is absolutely revelatory in One Battle After Another.

It all comes together to make One Battle After Another one of the most ambitious, exhilarating blockbusters to be released in the 21st century. Meaningfully political and supremely entertaining, it arrives as one of the boldest blockbusters ever made that’s sure to leave a lasting impression on the world of cinema.

★★★★★

One Battle After Another is in cinemas now.