One Battle After Another Movie Review

You will walk away from this hoping that Leonardo DiCaprio (Bob Ferguson, a member of a revolutionary group known as the French 75), Sean Penn (Col. Steven J. Lockjaw, the head of a military detention center who’s out to capture Bob most of the film) and Chase Infiniti (Bob’s daughter, Willa unaware that her parents were once vigilantes) appear in the next Paul Thomas Anderson film, that’s for sure. ​

They were impeccable here, bringing the tale of a single father raising his daughter after a life of crime, and doing a hell of a job at it. He keeps her safe, fed and makes sure she has the tools to become a better member of society than he thinks he has become. The young woman has to deal with her paranoid father, and does so the best she can, pretending all is normal, which is hard to do if a friend dares come anywhere near her home.

Sixteen years earlier, his wife, Perfidia Beverly Hills (played well by Teyana Taylor), jealous of the attention the child receives from her father, leaves him to raise her. As I said, he takes on that challenge very well, but shows signs of stress. We get to know her during a bank robbery scene in the beginning. You see that she has only herself in mind when it comes to who gets what from her.

Benicio del Toro, a remarkable character actor, could have been in this more (I wouldn’t have complained), but saying that, the movie didn’t need to be nearly three hours long. It didn’t feel that long because it’s sound work, but it’s taking a chunk out of your day, and honestly didn’t need to. Some moments could have been removed, and you wouldn’t have been less entertained.

It does go over the line of being a touch political. But it doesn’t matter which way you lean; it won’t bother you. Immigration is mentioned, mixed races getting together are frowned upon by some not-so-savory people that Lockjaw is trying to get in with. He’s not so wholesome himself, so it doesn’t surprise you. This storyline is mind-blowing to say the least. I’m doing my best to make this enjoyable without giving anything away, but it isn’t easy. Trust me when I say, Sean Penn gives generously of himself to play this role.

“One Battle After Another” has a great soundtrack as well as score, ultimately helping to keep your eyes and ears glued to the screen. Along with the score, the cinematography empowers you. It puts you inside of everyone. You’re the character, the cars, the roads. DiCaprio became more entertaining as he grew more frustrated, which is something he does well. In one scene, he has to deal with a person on the phone that he has to give a code to, a code he has forgotten over the years. This scene will have you doubled over with laughter.

It was an impressive film in every way a movie is supposed to be. It’s scathing, saying what it wants about the world today and the people we have become, in the most scornful way it could without humiliating its audience.

I bow to PTA’s grasp of story and his ability to tell it correctly. One clearly sent message is that freedom isn’t a guarantee, but you sure will miss it when it’s gone.

See this at the IMAX near you, as it was intended to be seen.