By Bob Grimm
Back in the day, director Paul Thomas Anderson offered the role of Dirk Diggler in Boogie Nights to Leonardo DiCaprio, who instead chose to go sink on a big boat and cement his status as one of the biggest actors in Hollywood. Although he’s extremely happy he made Titanic, DiCaprio has expressed regret that he did not do Boogie Nights, a film he greatly admires.
The two finally get another chance to pair up in Anderson’s 10th feature film, One Battle After Another—and it’s monumental. This stands as one of the most exciting and exhilarating films in which either has ever taken part. It’s another triumph for Anderson, who has never made a bad film, and further proof that DiCaprio can pick film projects like no other; he’s his generation’s Jack Nicholson.
Set in a fictional (?) America where an authoritarian government has suppressed the masses, destroyed the country and inspired violent revolutionary movements, the film stars DiCaprio as a rebel known for blowing things up. His fellow revolutionary and lover, Perfidia (Teyana Taylor), gets entangled with the completely insane Col. Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn, in monster mode), a high-ranking enemy officer—and life goes to some pretty complicated places.
Cut to 16 years later, and DiCaprio’s character, now known as Bob, is blotto on drugs and raising Willa (newcomer Chase Infiniti). Perfidia is out of the picture—domestic life clashed with her sensibilities—and Bob has gone into seclusion. When Lockjaw tries to join a demented white-supremacist group, a need to find Perfidia and her family arises. This creates an intense scenario and leads up to a bonkers final act in which everybody involved is operating at full talent, firing on all cylinders.
Anderson makes movies that somehow feel like his own, but borrow vibes from the great American directors of the late ’60s and ’70s. One Battle After Another, in some ways, feels like it could’ve been a contemporary of Dog Day Afternoon or Taxi Driver.
Like his Magnolia and Boogie Nights, this is a sprawling epic, two hours and 41 minutes long, that never lulls or bores. In ways, it’s his most exciting movie yet. There Will Be Blood is still his best film, and it will be a miracle if he ever tops that one.
While One Battle After Another is not a comedy, there are laughs throughout thanks to the absurdity of the situations, unhinged work from DiCaprio and Penn, and, most notably, a hilarious turn from Benicio Del Toro as a secret friend of the revolution who finds himself assisting Bob. Del Toro is funny in every onscreen moment. Hell, he just has to stand silent in the frame, and it’s funny.
DiCaprio is his usual great self; this movie would make a fine double feature with his Tarantino epic, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. His Bob will get a lot of comparisons to The Dude from The Big Lebowski, but that’s only because he smokes a lot of weed. (The characters are two different animals; Bob is definitely more paranoid.) Penn’s Lockjaw is one of his greatest screen creations. Think of his character from the military academy thriller Taps if he grew up and made some terrible life choices.
As he does in all of his films, Anderson delivers constant surprises and entertainment while creating a piece of art. This film showcases his ability to handle action scenes, including some fantastic car chases. There simply isn’t anything routine about this film.
One Battle After Another is one of 2025’s best films, and further proof that Paul Thomas Anderson is an all-time-great film director. What will he do next? I have no idea—but I’m pretty confident it will be great.
Be the first to comment