Review: One Battle After Another (2025)

Paul Thomas Anderson and I have always had a bit of a complicated relationship. I respect the craft, I admire the ambition, but I’ve never quite been on the same wavelength with his films the way some people are. So imagine my surprise when ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER completely bowled me over. I walked out of the cinema buzzing, grinning, and honestly a little dazed at just how much fun I’d just had.

This movie is a ride. It’s wild, unpredictable, sharp, and unashamedly hilarious. Anderson usually deals in tones that are heavy, slow-burn, and carefully restrained, but here he lets loose like a man possessed. The film opens with crazy momentum from the very first scene and it never lets up. One moment you’re laughing until your ribs hurt, the next you’re hanging on for dear life as the story barrels into some absurd, chaotic direction that somehow still feels perfectly controlled. I understand that “Rollercoaster ride” is cliché, but it’s really the only way to describe it.

The real triumph, though, is the cast. Leo delivers one of his best performances in years—looser, funnier, and more daring than I’ve seen him in ages, it really reminded me of his manic performance in THE WOLF OF WALL STREET. There’s no sense of self-seriousness weighing him down here; he’s just electric. And Sean Penn? Forget it. He’s in full madman mode, chewing scenery, spitting fire, and somehow finding real pathos in the middle of the insanity. Both of them are operating at the absolute peak of their powers, and it’s not a stretch to say they’re heading straight for Oscars.

By the time the credits rolled, I realised I’d spent the whole movie with a stupid smile plastered on my face. ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER isn’t just PTA’s most accessible film—it might be his most purely enjoyable. It’s proof that even if you’ve never been in the PTA fan club, he’s still capable of knocking you flat with something so confident, so outrageous, and so entertaining that you can’t help but love it.

Five stars, no hesitation.