Film Review: One Battle After Another 一戰再戰 (2025) - USA
Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critic Circle of Australia)
I rated it 7.5/10
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A Thrilling, Flawed Juggernaut - Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” arrives amidst the kind of anticipatory buzz that whispers "masterpiece." What lands on the screen is something different: a roaring, chaotic, wildly entertaining engine of a thriller that delivers visceral satisfaction and star wattage in spades, even as it occasionally sputters under the weight of its own considerable ambition. It is, perhaps, less a new “There Will Be Blood” and more a brilliantly flawed, nitro-boosted cousin to *
“Mission: Impossible”, filtered through Anderson’s unmistakable, stylish lens.
The Good: Style, Sweat, and Sean Penn - Let’s start with the undeniable: this movie moves. Anderson deploys the rare VistaVision format not just as a gimmick, but as a wide canvas for kinetic chaos. The result is often breathtaking – vistas feel vast, cityscapes loom ominously, and the action sequences possess a bone-crunching physicality rarely seen. A mid-film car chase isn't just thrilling; it's a symphony of screeching metal and desperate maneuvering, choreographed with balletic precision and captured with immersive grandeur. It feels fresh, vital, and utterly exhausting in the best possible way.
The energy extends to the performances. Leonardo DiCaprio, playing Bob, a weary ex-radical thrust back into the fray, finds a wonderfully wry exhaustion. He’s the bemused, reluctant heart at the center of the storm, grounding the absurdity with a relatable human fatigue and delivering laughs that feel earned, not forced. But the revelation, the truly terrifying engine driving the film’s dread, is Sean Penn as Col. Steven J. Lockjaw. Penn hasn’t been this menacing, this unsettlingly present, in years. Lockjaw isn’t just a villain; he’s a walking embodiment of corrupted authority, a performance so magnetic and chilling it deserves the "career-best" label already being whispered. Newcomer Chase Infiniti holds her own remarkably well against these titans, radiating a fierce intelligence that avoids cliché.
And then there’s the sound. Jonny Greenwood’s score is a character unto itself – a pulsating, nerve-jangling masterpiece of tension. Evoking a gritty 90s thriller vibe while remaining utterly modern, it’s a relentless, percussive force that elevates every chase, every confrontation, every moment of lurking dread. It’s the sound of paranoia made melody.
The Not-So-Good: Ambition’s Heavy Load - Yet, for all its propulsive power, “One Battle After Another” carries burdens that occasionally cause it to stumble. The most noticeable is its sheer length. At nearly three hours, the high-octane pace inevitably flags. There are stretches where the narrative meanders, tangents that feel less like deepening character and more like detours on the road to the next explosive set-piece. The pacing, so tight and thrilling for long stretches, isn't always the machine-tooled precision of the genre's very best.
Anderson also grapples with significant themes – the corrosive legacy of racism, the insidious creep of government surveillance, the rot of institutional corruption. These are weighty subjects, worthy of his considerable intellect. Yet, the film sometimes feels content to gesture towards them rather than truly grapple. The exploration can feel surface-level, even heavy-handed at times, lacking the profound, character-driven excavation of power and desperation that marked “There Will Be Blood” or the sprawling human tapestry of “Boogie Nights”. The ideas are present, but they don’t always resonate with the depth they demand.
Furthermore, Anderson’s blend of tones – dark comedy, brutal action, and earnest family drama – is largely successful, a testament to his skill. But the mix isn’t seamless. Occasionally, a joke lands with a thud, feeling cheap or predictable amidst the surrounding chaos, a slight misstep for a filmmaker usually so assured in his tonal control.
So, does “One Battle After Another” achieve masterpiece status? No. It lacks the flawless execution and profound depths of Anderson’s very best. But is it a damn fine, wildly entertaining, and frequently stunning piece of cinema? Absolutely. It’s a ride worth taking. Anderson delivers spectacle with style, powered by a trio of electric performances, headlined by Sean Penn’s truly unforgettable villain and Greenwood’s nerve-shredding score. It’s chaotic, it’s ambitious, it occasionally trips over its own feet, but it barrels forward with such conviction and energy that you’re swept along regardless. It’s a very good movie, flawed but fiercely alive, demanding to be seen on the biggest screen possible. Just don’t expect quiet transcendence; expect to be thrillingly run over by a cinematic steamroller. (Neo 2025)