Film Review: One Battle After Another

Welcome back to the blog readers. As you know by now, action films are one of my favorite kinds of films. Over these almost three full years that I have been doing this blog, these are the films I am most critical of because I love the genre so damn much. This film has been in the back of my mind for a while now, especially with the early awards buzz it seems to be getting coming out of the festivals. Would the universal love this film is getting be enough to win this cynical critic over? Stick around to find out.

One Battle After Another was written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, based on the novel Vineland by Thomas Pynchon. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Reginal Hall, Teyana Taylor, Alana Haim, Tony Goldwyn, and Chase Infiniti in her feature film debut. In the film, a group of ex-revolutionaries must band together again when an old enemy resurfaces and the daughter of one of their own is kidnapped.

It suffices to say that the reviews this film are getting is nothing short of Oscar worthy. I was hearing talk about this being the best film of the year, a Best Picture frontrunner, all the accolades. So it was with great interest that I went into this film with the expectation that I would feel the same...except I kind of didn't. I am not saying I hated the film in any way, but I am a bit disappointed I did not love it like everyone else did. I love all the performances (especially from Leonardo DiCaprio and Chase Infiniti), the music, and the cinematography, but the runtime and the story were points of issue for me.

I want to start by talking about one of my favorite people in the business, and that is Leonardo DiCaprio. DiCaprio has been prevalent since the 90s, and ever since I saw him for the first time in Titanic (1997), I knew he was going to be a star. From classic films like Catch Me If You Can (2002), The Aviator (2004), The Departed (2006), Inception (2010), Django Unchained (2012), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) (aka my favorite of his performances), and The Revenant (2015), DiCaprio is undoubtedly a titan of the industry. And that is no different in his portrayal of Pat Calhoun / Bob Ferguson in this film. He brings a bit of everything he has done in his career to a role that I think is one of his best. He combines the chaotic desperation of a father with the stewardness that comes with a powerful metaphor on regret and making the future better. I hope he gets an Oscar nomination for his performance, but I doubt he will due to the wide field of contenders this year.

Next up, we need to talk about the performance of Miss Chase Infiniti. Would you guys believe me if I told you that this is only her second acting role, ever? She starred in the acclaimed miniseries Presumed Innocent (2024), but this role of Charlene Calhoun / Willa Ferguson is only her second acting role. And by goodness, she killed it in this role. It goes a long way to be able to act circles around Sean Penn of all people, but she does it and does it with a whole lot of grace, grit, and power. For someone who is just a tad younger than I, Infiniti has proven that she belongs with the heavyweights that appear in this film, and her stock is going to go wayyyyyy up after this. Will she get an Oscar nomination for this film? Probably not, because again, this is only her second credit, but one day she will have at least one Academy Award on her mantle.

The next point of praise I want to talk about has to be with the cinematography. This film's director of photography is Michael Bauman, and he absolutely killed it in what he has done in this film. And I say that as I find out that this is his first cinematography job. Bauman has been in the camera and electrical department for Iron Man (2008) and The Island (2005), but he finally gets to come out of the shadows and fulfill the chaotic vision that Paul Thomas Anderson had for this film. Spotty but efficient (by design) work makes for one of the best shot films of the year, and makes Bauman a real contender for Best Cinematography.

And the final point I want to make in terms of the positives has to be with the music. Our composer for this screwball epic is Radiohead guitarist and frequent Paul Thomas Anderson collaborator Jonny Greenwood. Despite the accolades Greenwood has collected as part of the classic rock quartet, he has also lent his talents to the big screen in such films as There Will Be Blood (2007), Inherent Vice (2014), Phantom Thread (2017), and The Power of the Dog (2021) (and he was Oscar-nominated for the two latter). But Greenwood's score for this film is nothing short of stunning in a way. He is able to combine chaos and tranquility for a score that is jarring (as many other critics have called it), and is definitely one to keep your eyes on during awards season.

Now one of the things I have an issue with in this film is the runtime. Like John Campea says on his show, every film has a runtime that is perfect for it. Some films, like Avengers: Endgame (2019) and Oppenheimer (2023) do not feel like the three hours they actually are. But some films like The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025) did not need to be as long as they were. And other films like Meg 2: The Trench (2023) and Madame Web (2024) were 116 minutes too long. But One Battle After Another really did not need to be 2 hours and 42 minutes in my opinion. I felt as if some scenes were dragged on for too long, like the DNA scene or the extended introduction. The point could have been made in a lot less time, but the sequence that starts when Bob meets Sergio St. Carlos and ands when Bob is arrested is the best part of the film (and should not be shaved off at all). The chaos in that scene is too much of a delight to take any part of it.

And finally, I want to mention the story. And I am not talking about the fact that the French 75 are classified to be a far-left revolutionary group (so left in fact that Trump may designate them a terrorist organization for the fuck of it, since that's what we're worried about nowadays), but the fact that it really does not have a deeper meaning like the other film I saw this past weekend: A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (2025). You can argue that family is a central theme to this film, but only with our main protagonists does that theme really get fleshed out like it should be. I personally think this film was more focused on giving out a political message than anything. And don't get it twisted, I like when films go a bit political, but not when it is straight in my face. And while I do not condone the actions of the French 75 in the film (and any form of political violence in the real world), I do agree that we have major issues in this country and we need to come together like adults to solve them.

In conclusion, One Battle After Another takes a hot-button issue and puts a screwball-spin on it with Oscar-worthy performances, music, and cinematography. Thank you all for reading, and I will see you for the next post.