One Battle After Another Review: Leonardo DiCaprio Leads Chaotic Thriller
Paul Thomas Anderson has always been one of the few filmmakers who can balance an idiosyncratic artistic voice with a sense of scope. His latest film, One Battle After Another, feels both chaotic and alive, an imperfect but invigorating return to genre filmmaking. Loosely based on Thomas Pynchon’s Vineland, the movie channels paranoia, absurdity, and bursts of dark comedy into a framework that ultimately becomes a high-octane rescue thriller. The result isn’t Anderson’s cleanest or most elegant film, but it’s one of his most urgent, and one that feels particularly timely in today’s political climate.
The story follows a band of ex-revolutionaries who come out of hiding when an old enemy resurfaces after sixteen years. At the center is Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, a former radical who suddenly finds himself thrust back into action when his daughter is kidnapped. It’s a premise that sets the stage for Anderson to experiment with tone and pacing, often veering from grim political satire to full-blown action spectacle. While the shifts don’t always land smoothly, there’s a scrappy energy that keeps the movie humming.
What feels especially striking is the setting of the early sequences, much of which unfolds in and around an immigrant detention center. Anderson doesn’t linger on the setting in a way that feels exploitative, but rather uses it as a backdrop to emphasize systemic cruelty and hypocrisy. These moments resonate in today’s climate, grounding the film in political urgency before the story pivots toward a more conventional kidnapping thriller. There’s a slight frustration in the fact that the film seems to discard some of these heady political ideas as it progresses, but their presence in the opening gives One Battle After Another a weight that lingers, even when the narrative narrows into personal stakes.
A major draw here is the collaboration between Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio, a pairing cinephiles have been waiting for. DiCaprio has worked with just about every towering figure in modern filmmaking — Scorsese, Nolan, Tarantino, James Cameron — but until now, never Anderson. The wait proves worthwhile. Anderson gives DiCaprio a character that plays against his usual stoic intensity: a frazzled, profane man constantly on the verge of collapse. Watching one of Hollywood’s most polished stars stumble through a series of chaotic predicaments is one of the film’s great pleasures. About an hour in, when the focus sharpens on his mission to rescue his daughter, DiCaprio fully anchors the movie with a mix of desperation, humor, and raw conviction.
Still, one of the movie’s quirks is its shifting perspective. For stretches, particularly towards the beginning, it feels like the story can’t decide who its true protagonist is, passing the baton between characters and narrative threads. It’s not fatal to the experience, but it does mean that DiCaprio’s character occasionally feels less central than the plot requires. There’s a common criticism with the all-time great film Raiders of the Lost Ark, where you could argue that much, if not all, of the story would unfold the same without its central character. The same applies here, where even though his character is running around and we’re following his journey, the major plot points happen without him. It’s a minor flaw, but a noticeable one in a movie led by such a towering star.
The supporting cast adds heft and unpredictability. Sean Penn delivers a wonderfully sinister villain, leaning into menace, ego, and hypocrisy. Benicio del Toro and Regina Hall bring grit and pathos to their roles as weary revolutionaries dragged back into the fray. And then there’s Chase Infiniti, making her film debut, who more than holds her own against this heavyweight ensemble. She delivers a performance that feels fresh, grounded, and emotionally resonant, and she’s a breakout turn in a movie full of larger-than-life presences.
Anderson’s tonal balancing act doesn’t always glide. The pacing, in particular, is uneven. The first act rushes through exposition and plot points, as if eager to set all the pieces in motion, before slowing down considerably in the middle. At times, it feels like a scene or two may have been cut, leaving transitions that don’t quite land. But if the rhythm falters in the first half, the film more than makes up for it in the final act. The climax is one of Anderson’s best-directed action sequences, a thrilling cat-and-mouse pursuit punctuated by inventive car chases. He even sneaks in a visual homage to Punch-Drunk Love, attaching the camera to a car door as it slams shut—a playful wink to longtime fans.
One of the film’s great strengths is its willingness to embrace chaos. There’s a sense that anything can happen, whether in a sudden burst of violence, an unexpected humorous line, or a moment of bizarre political satire. Anderson threads dark humor throughout, allowing moments of absurdity to puncture the tension. The result is a film that often feels unhinged, but never dull.
And yet, the shift from political allegory to personal rescue thriller leaves some lingering disappointment. The movie flirts with systemic critiques of surveillance, immigration policy, and state power, but ultimately funnels everything into the more intimate story of a father fighting for his daughter. On one hand, this makes the film more emotionally direct and accessible. On the other hand, it sidelines some of the boldest ideas introduced early on. Still, the balance works well enough that the political edge enriches the thriller core, even if it doesn’t dominate it.
By the end, One Battle After Another may not stand among Paul Thomas Anderson’s absolute masterworks. My favorites of his are still Magnolia and Punch-Drunk Love, but it succeeds on its own terms: as a messy, funny, and gripping ride that proves Anderson can bring his distinctive voice into the realm of action cinema. It’s not perfect, but it demands to be seen on the biggest screen possible. I’ll absolutely be watching it again in IMAX 70mm and VistaVision, and I look forward to seeing how the movie plays on multiple rewatches. Watching a director of Anderson’s caliber take wild swings within an original story, with a star like DiCaprio pushing himself into new territory, is the kind of cinematic experience that feels increasingly rare.
For all its occasional flaws, One Battle After Another is still a film worth celebrating. It’s proof that even when Anderson isn’t operating at his very peak, he’s still delivering work that crackles with energy, wit, and vision.
SCORE: 7/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 7 equates to “Good.” A successful piece of entertainment that is worth checking out, but it may not appeal to everyone.
Disclosure: ComingSoon attended a press screening for our One Battle After Another review.
Source: Comingsoon.net