Uma Batalha Após a Outra

Paul Thomas Anderson's 10th feature film may as well be his most amusing & entertaining one to date. An incendiary adventure that comes brimming with a charged atmosphere, laced with rebellious spirit, packed with relevant themes and bolstered by a potent ensemble, One Battle After Another incorporates much of what's happening in present-day America to tell its tale of defiance & resistance.

Also written by Anderson (Phantom Thread & Licorice Pizza), the story concerns a group of ex-revolutionaries who reunite to rescue the daughter of one of their own when their past nemesis resurfaces. Volatile from the get-go, the film gathers momentum right away while exhibiting an undercurrent of tension & urgency that the picture not only sustains with effortless ease but also sprinkles with hilarious bits along the way.

The technical aspects are sound throughout, be it the steady camerawork, smooth pace, neat editing, interesting score & some expertly choreographed action set pieces. It is also an acting powerhouse, with the entire cast contributing with excellent inputs. Leonardo DiCaprio renders his role with stoned perfection and he's brilliantly supported by Sean Penn's intense showcase, Benicio del Toro's zen act & Chase Infinity's fiery performance.

Overall, One Battle After Another is crafted with controlled aggression, unfolds with a sense of chaos & emergency and delivers a thoroughly fun ride despite its politically & thematically rich layerings. Presenting the esteemed auteur in complete control of his craft and also impressive enough to rank amongst the best all-round films of the year, Anderson's latest feature further affirms his status as one of the preeminent filmmakers of his generation.

Props to writer / director Paul Thomas Anderson for blending "The Big Lebowski" & "Sicario" into the darkly humorous, quietly epic actioner "One Battle After Another". 16yrs after being part of a domestic terrorist group (with Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, & others) stoner Leonardo Di Caprio (so good again) lives off-grid with Chase Infiniti (his daughter by Taylor)... til the past comes for them via manic army Col Sean Penn (excellent). Cue reasonably twisty chase & shoot 'em up action, with characters like Benicio Del Toro (also great), white supremacist politicians, and plot holes aplenty (excusable as they keep Anderson's terrific pace flowing). Not flawless, but still thumping entertainment.

The film kept my attention and I genuinely enjoyed watching it, but I walked away feeling like something was missing. I'm still not sure why critics are so ecstatic about it - it's a solid piece of work, just not exceptional in the way the reviews suggest. I don't regret the time spent, yet I don't feel any desire to rewatch it either.

I do like a film that drops you in cold. This one drops us at the US/Mexican border with Perfidia (Teyana Taylor) and Pat aka Bob (Leonardo DiCaprio). They're odd-couple revolutionary activists of the vigilante militant persuasion, raiding the border, releasing detainees, blowing stuff up and pointing guns at Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn). This first encounter is just a teaser, quite literally. The sexual tension between the cast is disarming, everyone seems charged and ready. It's got a slick heist movie pace and aesthetic, but with a hefty dose of dark comedic grit, that just keeps getting dirtier. The playfulness is to be short lived. Perfidia is not here for games and her renegade actions soon turn everyone's lives upside down. This could really only be an American story, nowhere else would this level of extreme idolised rhetoric, disfunctional society and sanctioned violence be plausible. It's viscerally emotional stuff and whips along at a frenetic pace, centred around the definition of a bizarre love triangle. But boy does it keep you on your toes! Just when you think you've got the measure of its players and are ready to see which direction they go, Director and Writer Paul Thomas Anderson throws more fuel on the fire. White supremacy, spurned lovers, race wars, hardline conservatism and conspiracy paranoia. It's a snake pit, a story that winds so tight, that when it uncoils, it explodes with a wildly weaving story arc, delivered with sledgehammer subtlety. It's brilliant. I mean it could easily drown under the chaos and weight of its narrative, the dizzying set piece sequences, the stars! DiCaprio is fantastic, Penn is even better, then we meet Sensei Carlos (Benicio Del Toro). Names you'll recognise, but Chase Infiniti (great name) as the young Willa is wonderful. Everyone is nuts, there's not one single likeable character. This would usually be a deal breaker for me. No connection, no empathy, no point. But this works and you know what almost steals all the limelight... a road, a bloody road! True it's the camerawork, the score and the edit that make the finale tick so well, but this is a rare example of a sprawling, wide eyed, dangerously ambitious film, that really lands.

I'll admit, this didn't grab me at first. The opening felt slow, and the revolutionaries were a little too over the top for my taste. But somewhere along the way, the film won me over, mostly thanks to Bob. I've never been a big DiCaprio fan, yet he's fantastic here as a paranoid, anxious ex revolutionary who's clearly let himself go. He stumbles through scenes with this jittery, washed out energy, like a man who's spent far too many years drunk, high, and avoiding reality.

His phone calls with the revolution's customer service line where he can't remember the code he desperately needs, had me laughing out loud. Moments like that reminded me how rare it is to see something this original anymore.

The film throws everything into the mix: revolutionaries, white supremacist secret societies, hidden tunnels, explosions, political tension, bursts of action, and a healthy dose of absurdity. It's chaotic, strange, and surprisingly entertaining once it finds its rhythm.