One Battle After Another (2025)
In One Battle After Another, Leonardo DiCaprio plays Bob Ferguson, a once vibrant revolutionary who has become a paranoid drug addict and drunk. When the life of his teenage daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti), is put in danger—thanks to the resurgence of Bob's long ago arch nemesis, the seriously disturbed Col. Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn)—the washed-up radical must spring back into action.
From the word "go," this intense,
frighteningly topical thriller never lets up. It runs nearly three hours, but
you don't feel the length. This movie really moves.
The film is produced, written, and
directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, Phantom Thread, There
Will Be Blood), as well as inspired by Thomas Pynchon's 1990 novel Vineland.
You know you are watching a master filmmaker at work when the climatic car
chase is unlike any cinematic car chase you have ever seen—and it's especially
thrilling in IMAX.
The characters make sense, and the
acting is pitch perfect. In fact, it would be nutty if this reviewer didn't
mention Teyana Taylor's fiery performance as Bob's lover, Perfidia Beverly
Hills. It's her character that really sets this odyssey into motion. Another
great character in a film filled with great characters is Sergio St. Carlos, a
karate instructor and leader of an undocumented community played by Benicio del
Toro in, again, an excellent performance.
If it's not already clear, One
Battle After Another is a must see.
