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Daniel Eagan

4.5/5 stars
When Steven Spielberg sees your film three times, calling it “insane” and “incredible”, you know you’ve created a winner.
Writer and director Paul Thomas Anderson’s epic One Battle After Another, based on Thomas Pynchon’s novel Vineland, is a huge, sprawling vision of a frightening America, one where revolutionary terrorists make sense and the government is something to be feared.
Starting in the past as a group known as French 75 frees immigrants from detention centres while bombing “enemy” targets, the film introduces three key figures: the fearless Perfidia (Teyana Taylor), her partner and bomb expert Bob (Leonardo DiCaprio), and their nemesis Colonel Steven J Lockjaw (Sean Penn).


Flash forward 16 years and Bob is living off the grid in a backwater mountain town with his daughter Willa (newcomer Chase Infiniti).
Lockjaw pursues them relentlessly, afraid that Willa might jeopardise his initiation into a club of racist elitists. French 75 survivors send out an all-points alert to protect her.
Perfidia’s old friend Deandra (Regina Hall) rescues Willa from a high school prom just before the military arrives to take over the town.
Bob, a terminal stoner, is too high to notice what is happening until it is almost too late. He joins forces with sensei Sergio St Carlos (Benicio del Toro), Willa’s martial arts instructor, to connect with his daughter before Lockjaw captures her.
That puts into motion a supercharged chase that extends across California, from taco stands and convents to militia outposts.
Riots in the streets, military assaults, an immigrant underground railroad – Anderson captures a world in turmoil, one where few can be trusted and defeat means death.

The director gives full voice to Pynchon’s labyrinthine conspiracy theories, gently mocking revolutionary beliefs while showing just how terrifying a police state the United States has become. In today’s climate, the paranoia at the centre of the film has become worryingly relevant.
Anderson is working with a dream cast, with DiCaprio outstanding as a bumbling, baffled terrorist. Taylor, Infiniti and Hall all have heartbreaking scenes when not defiantly taking charge of the plot.
Only Penn, who plays Lockjaw like an arthritic Popeye, feels strained. He is more than offset by the movie’s secret weapon, a beguilingly laid-back Del Toro.
Cinematographer Michael Bauman shot on VistaVision, a format dating from the 1950s. Seen on an IMAX screen, One Battle After Another is a monumental visual experience, with staggering landscapes and deeply intimate close-ups.

A car chase on hilly desert roads puts viewers on the equivalent of a roller coaster to hell. The scale of the movie, teeming with extras and vehicles, is astonishing.
Compared to this, Anderson’s last two outings – the Pynchon-derived Inherent Vice and Licorice Pizza – were lightweight efforts. One Battle After Another finds the director at the peak of his power and is sure to be an awards contender.
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One Battle After Another movie review: Paul Thomas Anderson captures a frightening America

Leonardo DiCaprio in a still from One Battle After Another.

Leonardo DiCaprio as ageing revolutionary Bob in a still from One Battle After Another, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Sean Penn and Benicio del Toro co-star.


Sean Penn as Colonel Steven J Lockjaw in a still from One Battle After Another.

Benicio Del Toro as martial arts instructor Sergio St Carlos in a still from One Battle After Another.

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Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn and Benicio del Toro star in this story about a group of ageing revolutionaries in a dystopian America


Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn and Benicio del Toro star in this story about a group of ageing revolutionaries in a dystopian America.


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An assessment or critique of a service, product or creative endeavour.  Film reviews, restaurant reviews, reviews of art exhibitions. (Eg. Crazy Rich Asians: an important film, yes, but a good one?)


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Review | One Battle After Another movie review: Paul Thomas Anderson captures a frightening America

Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn and Benicio del Toro star in this story about a group of ageing revolutionaries in a dystopian America