Paul Thomas Anderson’s highly anticipated film One Battle After Another, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn, has won over critics ahead of its wide release. Written, directed, and produced by Anderson, the film currently holds a 97% Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Empire hailed the film as “a blast from start to finish (and there are many blasts within),” calling it “a stone-cold, instant classic.”
RogerEbert.com also praised Anderson’s latest, describing it as “a timeless story of resistance” that “playfully weaves together influences as broad-reaching as the true story of Weather Underground and cinematic depictions of rebellion.” The review continued, “It’s a remarkably propulsive, fun, and moving piece of work about the human beings caught up in the chaotic machine. It’s a live wire that drops in the first scene, setting off sparks for the next 162 minutes.”
The film follows Bob (DiCaprio), a washed-up revolutionary living in paranoid isolation with his fiercely independent daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti). When Bob’s longtime nemesis (Penn) resurfaces after sixteen years and Willa disappears, he is forced to confront the ghosts of his past, setting off a desperate, high-stakes search that becomes a battle for redemption.
Producer Sara Murphy revealed that Anderson has been developing One Battle After Another for nearly two decades. “The script has taken different shapes over many years,” Murphy said, “but it remains timeless.”
Deadline wrote, “The trailer didn’t give us much of an idea of what the impact of this movie really is. But it seems to me that, 20 years gestation or not, this is an extraordinary crackerjack hell of a film that has met its time. Some of it is so absurdly funny it looks like real life and art have somehow merged in the most pertinent of ways for 2025. Mindbending brilliance doesn’t begin to describe it.”
Collider called it a “generation-defining masterpiece,” writing: “In just under three hours, Anderson creates a captivating action film, an incredibly timely look at how power can be abused, an extremely funny comedy, and perhaps his most personal exploration of a father-daughter relationship — all in one of the most beautifully shot and well-acted films of the year.”
Variety praised the “ensemble of rich characters,” highlighting DiCaprio’s turn as Bob and Benicio del Toro’s portrayal of Sensei. The review noted, “One Battle After Another has the kind of twists and turns that feed the audience, giving us the childlike sensation that we have no idea what’s coming next — and that that’s the happiest way there is to watch a movie.”
Warner Bros. Pictures presents a Ghoulardi Film Company production, One Battle After Another, a Paul Thomas Anderson film. The movie opens in theaters and IMAX® nationwide on September 24, 2025.
