After spending his youth as a revolutionary demolitions expert “Bob” (Leonardo DiCaprio) has been living under the radar with his daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti). That is until old adversary Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn) tracks them down. 

One Battle After Another is true to its title and careers from one tense showdown to another. The opening salvo is a series of revolutionary attacks committed by the French ‘75 beginning with the liberation of a border camp under the command of Captain Steven J. Lockjaw, triggering his relationship with the militants. We see firebrand leader Perfidia Beverley Hills (Teyana Taylor) declare the group’s values that there should be no governmental control of borders, bodies or anything as she leads attack after attack. Bob, who at this point is called Pat is her lover and soon they find themselves with a baby on the way and a lot more trouble with the law. Cut to sixteen years later when a voiceover tells us not much has changed politically and Bob has now addled his brain with weed and alcohol but still wants nothing less than to keep his daughter safe. 

Now a Colonel, Lockjaw’s personal vendetta against Bob and Willa drives him to descend upon the town of Baktan Cross which they now call home. All while he is simultaneously trying to become a member of a secret society that believes that white people are superior to all other races. The result is even more intensity as a cat and mouse chase begins. 

The result is stupendous. A film running in at a gargantuan 161 minutes that feels like it flies past in a blink of an eye as you get to know half a dozen lead characters and a smattering of fantastic supporting characters, all of whom are superbly crafted as believable rounded individuals. But most brilliantly all of this is delivered in a tense and relentless juggernaut of scenarios that never once let up. All with a side of comedic value delivered by both the circumstances and the characters. 

DiCaprio’s Bob delivers the majority of the comic moments. After years of overindulging in weed and alcohol his revolutionary edge has been dulled rather dramatically. But not his paranoia. Spending almost the entirety of the film in his dressing gown it’s an absolute hoot watching him interrogate his daughter’s friends, scale rooftops and try to remember the secret passwords he once memorised all those years ago. Most importantly all of this is achieved without undermining the fact that it is clear he cares for his daughter and would do anything to keep her safe. DiCaprio nails the dishevelled revolutionary who has lost his edge with a character that reminded me of Robert De Niro in Jackie Brown. 

Chase Infiniti in her debut feature wows as his daughter Willa. Caught between wanting to be a teenager but having a firm respect for her father’s teachings. The fiery independence within her is clearly matched with that of her mother played brilliantly by Teyana Taylor in the opening section of the film and the two performances dovetail together perfectly. These are not women in need of saving and have a very clear idea of what they want to achieve. 

Sean Penn delivers his best performance in decades as Lockjaw. A complicated man who is wound up so tight his muscles seem to be popping out of his incredibly tight shirts. The manner he holds himself and walks underline his constant internal battle with himself and every time he is onscreen you fear for what he might do to those in his crosshairs. A man so utterly vile he seems to repulse himself. 

Then we have Benicio Del Toro’s Sensei Sergio and Regina Hall’s Deandra whose respective roles in the film involve helping Bob and Willa on their separate journeys. Their characters delivering stoic assistance in the face of extreme circumstances and projecting multitudes below the surface of their actions. 

Writer/Director Paul Thomas Anderson has delivered a masterwork with his tenth feature that challenges his other spectacular films as his best. Given he is the artist behind the likes of Boogie Nights, Magnolia, There Will Be Blood, The Master and Phantom Thread that is a compliment of the highest order. Here he manages to deliver on a film that is a statement on America, immigration, activism and the simple joy of fatherhood all in a bundle that is intense, comedic and never lets up. Shot on VistaVision cameras it also features some of the most superb car chases of modern times as we get low angle shots in the rolling Californian Hills of cars pursuing each other in baking heat blurred sunshine. All scored by regular collaborator Jonny Greenwood’s tense and discordant score. 

One final note before I wrap, if you do not find the sequence where the secret society discusses Lockjaw’s admittance to their important club one of the most hilariously absurd scenes put to film then I am at a loss. 

Utterly brilliant. 

To read more reviews of Paul Thomas Anderson’s films please click here: Paul Thomas Anderson Retrospective