Immediately after its release September 26, 2025, One Battle After Another has firmly set itself as a strong contender for the film of the year. As Director Paul Thomas Anderson’s 11th film, One Battle After Another debuted in theaters to near immediate success, making $48.5M during opening weekend and managing to hold a 96 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, an 8.5 rating on IMDb and a 4.5 on Letterboxd.
The movie chronicles the aftermath of a revolutionary movement, following the husband and daughter of one key member as they are pursued by an enemy of hers. The leads, Bob and Willa Ferguson (Leonardo Dicaprio and Chase Infiniti), offer a compelling dynamic at the center of the film, exploring the generational divide between the two characters. While these themes of intra-generational conflict and unity stay central to the story, the film explores many other relationships and ideas.
Antagonist Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn) manages to, in many ways, steal the show. Lockjaw is a character who could have easily seemed one dimensional, but shows himself as perhaps the most complex and compelling person in the film. Penn portrays this deceptively layered character spectacularly, giving one of the best performances of the year.
As Bob Ferguson, Leonardo Dicaprio continues to show himself as an incredibly versatile actor. While he gives a great performance, he has played better roles in the past. Still, the role comes as a great addition to his filmography.
Dicaprio’s co-star, Chase Infiniti, gives a spectacular performance, especially for her not having starred in a film before. Having previously led in Apple TV+’s Presumed Innocence, her performance as Willa Ferguson can mark an excellent start to her career in film. As Wllia, Infiniti channels the emotions of the character perfectly, portraying the outward stress of the perilous situations the cast goes through and her character’s internal ability to stay calm.
Tension runs high in One Battle After Another. I constantly found myself on the edge of my seat following the thriller where the line between cat and mouse blurs. This anxiety permeating the film makes the three hour runtime speed by, finding yourself engrossed in the story.
Part of the tense atmosphere that the film sets comes from the score composed by Jonny Greenwood. The offbeat and intense instrumentation keeps the audience subconsciously on edge as the plot unfurls. While the score mostly keeps the audience in the right mood as they watch, certain motifs of the music build the themes and characters of the film. While on first watch, you may not pick up on these subtleties, but they add depth to the film which makes re-watch more and more rewarding.
I myself have seen the film twice and would love to see it again before the movie leaves theaters to catch more of these small details. I highly recommend the film for anyone to go see it before it leaves theaters.
