One Battle After Another review (2025)

One Battle After Another features great performances, some great moments and a great frenetic unpredictable flow yet that doesn’t result in a great movie.

It’s good, but a few narrative and creative choices by director/writer Paul Thomas Anderson hold One Battle After Another from true greatness.

The French 75, a group of self-styled revolutionaries have had enough of the establishment and are going on the offensive. They’re robbing banks, freeing detainees from migrant camps and planting the occasional bomb to make statements in lieu of body counts.

French 75 is led by Perfidia (Teyana Taylor, Straw), a charismatic yet reckless firebrand. Among her group are Deandra (Regina Hall), Laredo (Wood Harris), Mae West (Alana Haim) and her lover Bob (Leonardo DiCaprio).

One Battle After Another has a massive runtime of two hours and 41 minutes. It would have been helpful if Anderson used some of that time to dive into the backstory of the French 75 — what led to their breaking point and how this diverse group of personalities came together.

Instead, Anderson is more preoccupied with showing that Perfidia has just got to have it. Her lust is so ravenous that she’s barely free of the range from a bomb Bob planted before she’s ready to pounce on him.

Perfidia’s sex drive is so unquenchable that she gets sidetracked sexually tormenting Col. Steven Lockjaw (Sean Penn in a performance that ranges from terrifying to comedic). The only problem is Lockjaw likes it and while he’s far more on the “all white is all right” mentality, he’ll make an exception to fulfill his sexual fantasies.

Anderson is trying to explore Lockjaw’s hypocrisy, but Perfidia gets caught in the crossfire making her a dangerous, unlikable character. Maybe she just likes the sense of power over powerful guys, but Anderson isn’t interested in diving deeper into that notion at any time in One Battle After Another.

Perfidia gets pregnant but she’s not interested in slowing down. She’s a wild child and starts to resent Bob’s bond with their daughter. Eventually, she gets caught during a mission prompting French 75 to quickly scatter, risk getting caught or worse.

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Fast forward 16 years and Bob has become a burnout forcing Willa (Chase Infiniti) to be the parent instead of the child. Lockjaw gets an invitation to join an exclusive club led by Tony Goldwyn and Kevin Tighe who talk about purity. Much like in real life, the racists in One Battle After Another don’t want to just outright state that they’re racists.

A background check could prove disastrous to Lockjaw’s candidacy, so he sets off to find Bob and Willa for a spot Maury Povich check. Over the years, Bob has insisted that Willa stick to certain precautions. She thought he was paranoid, but when Lockjaw and his military forces — essentially playing the role of ICE for Anderson — arrive looking for her does she learn the truth.

Good thing for Willa, Deandra beat them to tracking her down first. One Battle After Another would have benefitted from Hall having a larger role. Most of the characters have certain quirks to make the film almost a dark comedy, but Hall gives Deandra a grounded presence that provides a strong balance.

Bob also narrowly escapes and seeks aid from Willa’s martial arts instructor Sensei Sergio (Benicio Del Toro). Sergio is a fun contrast to Bob’s constant spazzing out as he frets over Willa’s safety. Anderson makes the Bob/Sergio scenes the highlights of One Battle After Another.

Del Toro gives Sergio an amusing Zen mindset as he casually navigates his family’s underground railroad to help immigrants evade custody. Del Toro should be a lock for a Best Supporting Actor nod and it wouldn’t be shocking if he takes home the Oscar for his performance.

DiCaprio feels inevitable to land another Best Actor nomination. He’s the engine that drives One Battle After Another as he gives Bob so many engaging levels. Yes, Bob is a paranoid screwup, but he’s determined to keep his daughter safe. Infiniti also delivers an impressive performance though it feels like she could battle Hall and Taylor for a supporting actress nomination. This year has seen plenty of contenders for Best Ensemble and One Battle After Another has an abundance of strong candidates.

Anderson doesn’t offer much follow-up to the fates of some of these supporting characters, which is frustrating as they’re treated as important elements to the film until they’re not. Do they just get sent to prison or do they get taken to a room draped in plastic covering?

While the script has some leaks, Anderson’s direction is fully dialed in. Anderson delivers a sense of constant movement without disorienting the viewer. One Battle After Another has some beautiful shots provided by director of photography Michael Bauman while Jonny Greenwood’s jazzy score helps maintain the film’s lively tone.

The film’s length starts to feel like it’s dragging by the final act, which Anderson shoots with some intense shootouts before an extended chase that needed some tightening in the editing room. Ditto for much of the epilogue as one subplot resolution wasn’t necessary at all while another character gets some semblance of an unearned redemption.

One Battle After Another is going to garner plenty of attention during award season with a good portion of it being well deserved, but it’s not like watching a cinematic revolution play out either.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Photo Credit: Warner Bros.

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