One Battle After Another touches on big ideas like racism, immigration, abuse of power, identity, and parenthood without turning preachy.
Key Points
- One Battle After Another picks up 13 nominations at the 2026 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio, and Best Director for Paul Thomas Anderson.
- The film is a cleverly written, well performed father-daughter story wrapped inside a tense chase narrative.
- One Battle After Another is an intimate look into a father-daughter duo who love each other fiercely but struggle to truly see one another.
One Battle After Another is a stunning piece of work. Given Paul Thomas Anderson's stature as an auteur storyteller, that comes as no surprise.
He has always had a knack for messy people and messy emotions, and here, he wraps all that chaos into something that feels deeply personal.
I got into this film expecting a snappy, almost mischievous comedy. With Leonardo DiCaprio leading the charge in his first screen collaboration with PTA, I was ready for something Wolf of Wall Street-esque flashy, loud, maybe a little outrageous comedy.
The early stretches even lean into that vibe. There are goofball beats, sharp exchanges that Anderson loves in his intense, character-driven narratives.
It takes a little while to lock into the film's tone and figure out where it's heading. But once it finds its rhythm, it swings big.
What's One Battle After Another About
The film opens with a flashback where we first meet DiCaprio's Pat and his partner Perfidia, played by the terrific Teyana Taylor. They are part of a far-left revolutionary group called French 75, and their love story grows right alongside their fierce activism. They believe in the cause, in each other, in the idea that they can change the world.
Then Colonel Steven Lockjaw (Sean Penn) enters the picture and turns everything upside down.
Perfidia goes into hiding, and Pat takes on a new identity as Bob Ferguson to protect their now-grown daughter Willa, played by Chase Infiniti (What a name it is!)
Willa, much like her parents once were, carries a rebellious streak of her own. She is more like her mother in spirit, which often puts her at odds with her father, who is now a washed-up alcoholic. His excessive paranoia sees danger everywhere, while she sees control and mistrust from him.
A ghost from the past resurfaces when Lockjaw targets Willa, who then goes missing. With her disappearance, Bob is pulled back into the very world he thought he had left behind.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Chase Infiniti lead a father-daughter story
One Battle After Another touches on big ideas like racism, immigration, abuse of power, identity, and parenthood without turning preachy, though it doesn't have the same heavy weight as Director Anderson's There Will Be Blood.
Beneath all the weighty commentary, the film is an intimate look into a father-daughter duo who love each other fiercely but struggle to truly see one another. At the same time, the film beautifully subverts the idea of the all-powerful protector dad.
Bob is flawed, insecure, sometimes ridiculous. He is not a superhero. He is a man trying, and often failing, in order to make things right. Much like the chaotic energy of Marty Supreme, one problem ends, another begins, and somehow it stays entertaining because DiCaprio keeps it grounded.
He plays Bob with physical comedy, where one minute he is fumbling to remember passcodes from 16 years ago, the next he is showing his irrational paternal fear.
There's a car chase sequence that is staged with such skill and control that it feels more intense than anything the Fast and Furious films have thrown at us. It amps up tension to absurd levels because the stakes here are emotional, not just physical.
Chase Infiniti as Willa carries the confidence of a seasoned actor who balances vulnerability with steely resolve in a way that feels remarkable for a debut actor. It's genuinely disappointing not to see her in the Oscar lineup.
Sean Penn is fabulous
The highlight of the film is undoubtedly Sean Penn, whose Steven Lockjaw is a weirdly fascinating villain. He plays a sexist, racist man who is played out as a caricature, but Penn gives him chilling conviction that never turns into a cartoon. Instead, he makes him frighteningly human.
When his name takes on a literal meaning in the final turn, it lands as darkly comedic punch!
Benicio del Toro is hilarious in a limited but effective role. Both he and Penn received supporting Oscar nominations, and while del Toro is awesome, it is Penn who is really something else in this film.
Regina Hall, in a dramatic turn, feels miles away from her Scary Movie days. I had to Google to check if that's really her. It is a reminder of how much range she has.
Behind the scenes, the casting by Cassandra Kulukundis, recognised in the newly-introduced Best Casting category at the Academy Awards, deserves every bit of praise. The ensemble cast perfectly fits into Paul Thomas Anderson's eccentric but deeply humane world.
One Battle After Another is available for rent on Amazon Prime Video.
