Now Watching: One Battle After Another (2025)

One Battle After Another (2025)
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, and Chase Infiniti

When their evil enemy resurfaces after 16 years, a group of ex-revolutionaries reunite to rescue one of their own’s daughter.

Rating: 8/10

I’ve been hearing raves about this film, and I really wanted to see it in a theater, so when I got off work a little early today, I went to a matinee. The show started at 3, and I arrived about 7 minutes till. I bought my ticket and my snacks (Junior Mints and a Dr. Pepper – a rarity for me, as my wife always makes me get popcorn).

The guy behind the counter told me the theater number, but I didn’t pay him much mind, as they have posters up in front of each entrance. I wandered down the hall one way, then the other, and finally found my theater.

It was completely empty. Surprisingly, they didn’t have any commercials or trailers playing on the screen. It was completely dark. I figured since I was the only one there and I had just bought my ticket, they weren’t bothering with the usual pre-movie nonsense.

Time passed, and soon it was five minutes past three. Then ten. Still no movie. And it was hot. I was literally starting to sweat. I got up and went back to the guy who sold me the ticket. I politely explained the movie wasn’t running and asked if he could turn down the air. He said he’d tell his manager, and I went back and sat down.

Another five minutes rolled by, and now I’m getting annoyed. The movie is a long one, and I don’t want to be here all night.

Then the guy comes in. He sheepishly says he’s figured out the problem. I’m in the wrong theater. Those posters in front of the entrance are digital displays, and they’ve got them all wrong. It is now fifteen minutes past the hour, and I’m afraid I’ve missed the start of the movie. I curse, then rush to the correct theater. Luckily, they are still showing previews, and I’m good to go.

Paul Thomas Anderson is a director I really like, but I find his films difficult at first watch. They are usually long and dense, and their points of view are off-kilter, which can make them difficult to grasp.

I usually have to sit with them for a while and then maybe watch again before I decide to really love them.

And so it was with One Battle After Another. I liked it a lot, but I’m not ready to love it. I need to think about it for a bit.

Leonardo DiCaprio is very good as a former revolutionary who seems to have really gotten into it for a girl and who isn’t all that bright. Years after a big dustup between his group and a racist Army dude (played to perfection by Sean Penn) pass, and he’s now a slack-jawed stoner trying to raise a teenage girl. The Sean Penn character comes back into the picture, and things get wild.

Really wild. The name is apt because this is a film that very rarely lets up. The performances are all top-notch, and there is plenty of black humor, crazy absurdities, and more. I really did like it, but like I said, I need to sit with it a bit.

As the title of this post implies, I’m back with the idea of writing little mini-reviews of all the movies I watch. Let’s see how long I keep up with it this time.