---
title: "One Battle After Another"
year: 2025
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/one-battle-after-another"
fi1m_id: "one-battle-after-another"
imdb_id: "tt30144839"
tmdb_id: 1054867
wikidata_id: "Q117085614"
fi1m_score: 87
critics_score: 93
critics_reviews: 10
published: "2026-09-09"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:37:49.220761+00:00"
region: "PH"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# One Battle After Another (2025)

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson · 2h 42m · MTRCB R-16 · Thriller, Crime, Comedy

## Identity

One Battle After Another

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/one-battle-after-another
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** one-battle-after-another
- **IMDb ID:** tt30144839
- **TMDB ID:** 1054867
- **Wikidata ID:** Q117085614
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30144839/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1054867, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q117085614

**Fi1m score: 87** · Critics 93 from 10 reviews

*In a sentence:* A stoned Leonardo DiCaprio cannot remember the password to the revolution, and the revolution is not surprised

> Paul Thomas Anderson turns Thomas Pynchon into a chase film, and it is the fastest, funniest thing he has made. It runs 162 minutes and earns most of them; the villains are cartoons.

## Synopsis

Perfidia (Teyana Taylor) leads a cell of armed radicals, and Bob (Leonardo DiCaprio), the group’s explosives man, follows her into every raid. Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn), the army officer they humiliate, comes away fixated on her. The film follows what becomes of the three of them, and of Bob and Perfidia’s daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti), across the years that follow, with Benicio del Toro as a karate teacher, Sensei Sergio, and Regina Hall as Deandra, a former comrade from the group. Paul Thomas Anderson writes and directs, loosely adapting Thomas Pynchon. It runs 162 minutes and carries a 15 certificate.

## Review

Paul Thomas Anderson has taken Thomas Pynchon’s *Vineland*, thrown away most of it, and made a chase film. It is the fastest thing he has directed, the funniest since [*Boogie Nights*](https://film.one/film/boogie-nights), and at 162 minutes about half an hour longer than it needs to be. We recommend it, with that caveat and one other: the men it is angry at are drawn so broad that the anger lands softer than it should.

It opens at full speed. Perfidia (Teyana Taylor) leads a cell of armed radicals through a raid on a detention centre, and Bob (Leonardo DiCaprio), the group’s explosives man, trails after her half a step behind. The officer they humiliate, Colonel Lockjaw (Sean Penn), comes out of it fixated on her, and Anderson spends the first act on the three of them: Perfidia’s appetite for the fight, Bob’s for Perfidia, and Lockjaw’s for something he cannot say aloud. Taylor is ferocious and the film is hers for as long as she is in it. Then she is gone, and years later Bob is a paranoid drunk in a dressing gown, raising their teenage daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti) in a small town and jumping at passing cars.

DiCaprio has never been this loose. Bob is stoned for most of the film, cannot find his glasses, cannot work a telephone, and when the old network calls with a coded challenge he cannot remember the answer. We laughed out loud, more than once, at a man who once blew up buildings failing a security question, and then felt for him, because his daughter is out there and he is the only one looking. Benicio del Toro, as Willa’s karate teacher Sergio, plays the calmest man in a burning town and gets the biggest laughs by doing the least. Regina Hall, as Bob’s old comrade Deandra, has one hard, quiet scene that reminds you what the group cost the people in it.

Michael Bauman shoots it in VistaVision, wide and grainy, and the width matters most on the open road, where he keeps the camera low so that the horizon hides what is coming. Andy Jurgensen cuts the chases slowly, letting whole stretches of road play out; the tension is in what the frame does not show yet. We held our breath through one of them for what felt like minutes and only noticed when it was over. Jonny Greenwood’s score is mostly piano, struck hard and left to ring, with drums that come in under the chases and stop dead when the cars do. Florencia Martin gives Bob a house full of dead plants and Lockjaw an office with nothing in it, and Colleen Atwood keeps Penn in a uniform starched to the point of parody.

The parody is the trouble. Penn plays Lockjaw with a jaw like a shovel and a walk that suggests something has been surgically removed, and it is a good comic turn, but the film also wants him to be frightening, and it cannot have both. The wealthy men he answers to are sketched as a club of elderly bigots, and every scene with them plays as a cartoon. Anderson is furious about the country he is describing, and the fury would land harder if the people he was furious at looked like people. Willa also drops out of the middle hour, which is a pity, because Infiniti is good and the film is nominally about her.

Against Anderson’s own work it sits high. *Inherent Vice*, his other Pynchon, was baggy and pleased with itself; this is a plot with a clock on it, and he has never run one before. Most critics have put it near the top of his career and several have reached for words we do not use. We are a little cooler. It is a fine film with a great half hour in it, and a big studio thriller with real jokes and real ideas, which is rarer than it should be.

See it on the biggest screen you can find, for the road if nothing else. If you know the novel, leave it at home; Anderson has kept the mood and little else, which is the right way to treat Pynchon and probably the only one.

*Fi1m score 87, published 9 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

The reviews are as close to unanimous as they get: every notice is positive, and the spread runs from warm to ecstatic without a single mixed or negative voice. The praise clusters first on the action, with the late desert car chase named again and again as the sequence people leave talking about, and then on the cast. Leonardo DiCaprio’s burnt-out ex-revolutionary is the most often singled-out performance, with Sean Penn’s villain, Teyana Taylor and Chase Infiniti close behind. Jonny Greenwood’s score and the VistaVision photography draw regular mention, as does the film’s head-on engagement with present-day American politics.

Reservations are faint. The Guardian, the coolest of the notices, finds the pulp tone cartoonish and the forces of reaction drawn in broad strokes, and Screen Daily wonders quietly whether the film believes lasting change is possible. Nobody argues it is dull, and nobody argues it is short.

## Straight answers

**Is One Battle After Another worth watching?**

*One Battle After Another* is worth watching, and we scored it 87. Paul Thomas Anderson turns Thomas Pynchon into a fast, funny chase film with a loose, stoned Leonardo DiCaprio and a ferocious Teyana Taylor. It runs 162 minutes and is about half an hour too long, and its villains are drawn as cartoons, which softens the anger behind it.

**How long is One Battle After Another, and what is it rated?**

*One Battle After Another* runs 2h 42m and is rated R-16 by the MTRCB in the Philippines. It is a thriller and crime film.

**Where can I watch One Battle After Another in the Philippines?**

*One Battle After Another* is streaming on HBO Max in the Philippines, and it is also available to rent from Apple TV from ₱169.00. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is One Battle After Another, and is it suitable for children?**

*One Battle After Another* carries a 15 certificate, so it is not for children. It opens with an armed raid on a detention centre and runs on car chases, gunfire and paranoia, with heavy drug use throughout, though the review found the chases more tense than gory. Teenagers of fifteen and over who can sit through 162 minutes should manage it.

**How does One Battle After Another compare to Z?**

*One Battle After Another* and [*Z*](https://film.one/film/z) are both political thrillers built like chase films, and both draw their villains a shade too broad. *Z* is tighter and angrier, with the discipline of a prosecutor working from a real assassination; Anderson's film is looser, funnier and half an hour longer. Choose *Z* for the sting, Anderson for the jokes and the road.

**Is One Battle After Another based on a true story or a book?**

*One Battle After Another* is loosely based on Thomas Pynchon's novel *Vineland*, not on a true story. Anderson has kept the mood and thrown away most of the plot, turning it into a chase film with a clock on it. You do not need to have read the book, and our review suggests those who have should leave it at home.

**What should I watch after One Battle After Another?**

After *One Battle After Another*, try [*Inherent Vice*](https://film.one/film/inherent-vice) (2014, Fi1m 78): Anderson’s other Pynchon, slower and stranger, to see what he has since learned. Then [*Z*](https://film.one/film/z) (1969, Fi1m 84): Costa-Gavras makes a political cover-up run like a chase, and it still stings; and [*Paper Moon*](https://film.one/film/paper-moon) (1973, Fi1m 86): A hopeless father, a sharper daughter, and long straight roads in black and white.

### Reviews we read (17)

- **Radio Times**, Patrick Cremona (★★★★★): The critic hails it as the best film of the year so far and a masterpiece, praising the thrilling and uproarious chase, sensational performances especially DiCaprio and Penn, inventive action set pieces, timely themes and emotional father-daughter core. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/app/one-battle-after-another-review-leonardo-dicaprio-shines-in-the-best-film-of-the-year-so-far/)
- **Time Out**, Lou Thomas (5/5): The critic calls it a mighty 162 minutes of danger, comedy, excitement, love, sex and confusion, highlighting DiCaprio's fun performance, inspired sequences and timely political edge as a formidable piece of work from a director in top form. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/one-battle-after-another-review)
- **The AV Club**, Jesse Hassenger (A-): The review highlights DiCaprio's standout comic and moving performance as a burnt-out ex-revolutionary dad, and praises the film's smart balance of 1970s-style thriller elements, satire of white nationalism, righteous action, and themes of fatherhood and resistance. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/one-battle-after-another)
- **The New York Times**, Manohla Dargis (90/100, inferred): The critic hails the film as an exciting, goofy yet deadly serious epic that says no to complacency and oppression while celebrating the fight for justice and a father-daughter love story. It singles out the urgent, brilliantly directed engagement with contemporary American politics and the galvanic performance of Teyana Taylor as Perfidia for particular praise. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/25/movies/one-battle-after-another-review-paul-thomas-anderson.html)
- **Vulture**, Alison Willmore (90/100, inferred): It is described as top-tier PTA that sprawls across genres and tones while refusing to center one character, with praise for DiCaprio's loser-era turn, Penn and Taylor's performances, inventive action sequences, and its measured optimism about cycles of activism and new volunteers stepping up. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/review-one-battle-after-another-is-top-tier-pta.html)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Richard Lawson (85/100, inferred): The critic calls it a furious, bracingly timely American epic and polemic that confronts current fascist creep and repressive politics head-on through an ex-revolutionary group's story. Anderson is praised for blending action, suspense, and ideas with strong performances (especially DiCaprio) and a mix of bleakness and cautious hope. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/one-battle-after-another-review-leonardo-dicaprio-1236372737/)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (80/100, inferred): The critic describes Anderson's loose adaptation of Pynchon's Vineland as a bizarre, pulpy action thriller with comic-book energy and political indignation. It singles out the superbly managed car chases, Jonny Greenwood's score, and the central father-daughter story amid cartoonish forces of reaction. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/sep/17/one-battle-after-another-review-paul-thomas-andersons-thrillingly-helter-skelter-counter-culture-caper)
- **Empire**, Alex Godfrey: The critic hails it as a stone-cold instant classic and blast of entertainment, praising its ambitious yet humane take on revolution and family, DiCaprio and Infiniti’s central relationship, and a thrilling car-chase sequence. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/one-battle-after-another/)
- **Evening Standard**, Nick Howells: The critic deems it the coolest and most consummately masterful movie of the year, a rollicking riot and visual symphony, singling out the genius desert car chase sequence and DiCaprio’s hapless yet loving performance. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/one-battle-after-another-review-paul-thomas-anderson-leonardo-dicaprio-teyana-taylor-b1247490.html)
- **Screen Daily**: The critic describes it as Anderson's most purely entertaining vehicle, an audacious action-thriller with muscular chases, electric energy from Greenwood's score and strong performances, while noting quieter concerns about lasting change in a corrupt world. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/one-battle-after-another-review-leonardo-dicaprio-powers-paul-thomas-andersons-gripping-thriller/5208987.article)
- **Sight and Sound**: The critic praises Anderson's giddying, farcical political action thriller as a terrific ride full of relish, with Kubrickian satirical absurdism, inventive chases, ravishing VistaVision visuals and a strong Jonny Greenwood score. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/one-battle-after-another-theres-so-much-relish-paul-thomas-andersons-political-cat-mice-caper)
- **The Independent**, Clarisse Loughrey: The critic calls it a ferocious masterpiece and definitive artist’s statement, praising its scale, swagger, clarity on resistance under white supremacy, and hopeful conclusion while highlighting standout performances from Teyana Taylor and Sean Penn. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/one-battle-after-another-review-leonardo-dicaprio-b2828827.html)
- **Total Film**, Jordan Farley: The critic describes it as one of the best studio movies in years and an instant classic. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/action-movies/one-battle-after-another-review-one-of-the-best-studio-movies-in-years-and-an-instant-classic/)
- **Collider**, Ross Bonaime (10/10): The critic calls it a generation-defining masterpiece and Anderson operating at peak power, blending a big-budget action film with timely political commentary, humor, and a deeply personal father-daughter story into an essential, propulsive work. They single out the masterful direction, standout cast performances (especially DiCaprio and Penn), and Jonny Greenwood’s score for particular praise. [Read](https://collider.com/one-battle-after-another-review-leonardo-dicaprio-paul-thomas-anderson/)
- **Den of Geek**, David Crow (5/5): The critic hails Anderson's most action-heavy and transgressive film to date as a subversive epic that begins as sly comedy about political opposites vying for a revolutionary woman's attention and evolves into a plot-driven chase with profound emotional and political depth. Praise centers on the standout performances, especially Chase Infiniti as the daughter Willa who embodies hope amid the chaos, alongside DiCaprio's wry turn and Penn's sinister villainy. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/one-battle-after-another-review-leonardo-dicaprio/)
- **/Film**, Chris Evangelista (10/10): The critic calls it the best movie of the year, a fiercely political yet darkly funny action-comedy-thriller unlike anything PTA has made before. They single out the propulsive car chases, shootouts, and Leonardo DiCaprio's hilarious burnout performance for particular praise. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/1969966/one-battle-after-another-review/)
- **Deadline**, Pete Hammond: The critic calls it an extraordinary, crackerjack film that defies easy description and stands as a masterpiece. He singles out the sensational car chase sequence toward the end as one that ranks near the top of cinematic chase scenes. [Read](https://deadline.com/2025/09/one-battle-after-another-review-leonardo-dicaprio-sean-penn-1236546480/)

## Details

- **Director:** Paul Thomas Anderson
- **Director:** Paul Thomas Anderson
- **Writer:** Paul Thomas Anderson
- **Novel:** Thomas Pynchon
- **Cinematography:** Michael Bauman
- **Editor:** Andy Jurgensen
- **Music:** Jonny Greenwood
- **Production design:** Florencia Martin
- **Costume design:** Colleen Atwood
- **Producer:** Adam Somner, Sara Murphy, Paul Thomas Anderson
- **Cast:** Leonardo DiCaprio as Bob; Sean Penn as Col. Steven J. Lockjaw; Chase Infiniti as Willa; Benicio del Toro as Sensei Sergio St. Carlos; Regina Hall as Deandra; Teyana Taylor as Perfidia; Wood Harris as Laredo; Tony Goldwyn as Virgil Throckmorton
- **Runtime:** 2h 42m
- **Certificate (MTRCB):** R-16
- **Release (the Philippines):** 24 September 2025
- **Genres:** Thriller, Crime, Comedy
- **Also in:** [Best Picture winners](https://film.one/collections/oscar-best-picture.md) (Winner, 2025); [BAFTA Best Film winners](https://film.one/collections/bafta-best-film.md) (Winner, 2025); [Golden Globe Best Musical or Comedy winners](https://film.one/collections/golden-globe-comedy.md) (Winner, 2025)
- **Budget:** $175 million
- **Box office:** $209 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6GVb4p7oD4

## Where to watch in the Philippines

- HBO Max: streaming, uhd
- Apple TV: rent ₱169.00, hd
- Apple TV: buy ₱599.00, hd

*Checked 2026-09-10.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TH, TR, UA, US, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 2026: Best Actor (nominated); Best Cinematography (nominated); Best Original Score (nominated); Best Production Design (nominated); Best Sound (nominated); Best Supporting Actress (nominated); Achievement in Casting (won); Best Director (won); Best Film Editing (won); Best Picture (won); Best Supporting Actor (won); Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (won)
- Amanda Award for Best Foreign Feature Film 2026: Amanda Award for Best Foreign Feature Film (won)

## If you liked this

- *Running on Empty* (1988): Ex-radical parents, a teenager who wants out, and Lumet refusing to shout about it
- *The Parallax View* (1974): Pakula’s paranoid thriller, where the powerful men are frightening because they are dull
- *Inherent Vice* (2014), Fi1m 78: Anderson’s other Pynchon, slower and stranger, to see what he has since learned — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/inherent-vice.md)
- *Z* (1969), Fi1m 84: Costa-Gavras makes a political cover-up run like a chase, and it still stings — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/z.md)
- *Paper Moon* (1973), Fi1m 86: A hopeless father, a sharper daughter, and long straight roads in black and white — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/paper-moon.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/one-battle-after-another