Filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson is back with epic action thriller One Battle After Another, drawing inspiration from Thomas Pynchon’s 1990 novel, Vineland.

Anderson has been developing the film for nearly two decades, originally aiming to write an action-packed car-chase movie. At the same time, he was drawn to adapting Pynchon’s Vineland, a 1990 novel set in the 1980s with flashbacks to the 1960s. Adding a female revolutionary character helped everything start to come together. Ultimately, Anderson borrowed elements from the novel but made them his own, weaving them into the script for One Battle After Another. Setting the story mostly in the present—with parts taking place 15 years earlier—is for the best.

Bob Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio), once known as “Ghetto” Pat Calhoun of the French 75 revolutionary group, now drifts through life in a haze of paranoia, surviving off the grid with his fiercely independent daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti). Their fragile existence unravels when Willa suddenly disappears, pushing Bob into a frantic search and turning to Sensei Sergio St. Carlos (Benicio Del Toro) for help. At the same time, his longtime nemesis, Col. Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn), resurfaces after 16 years, reigniting a bitter conflict. Father and daughter are both forced to confront the inescapable consequences of his past.

Everything had changed for Bob and Willa when Perfidia Beverly Hills (Teyana Taylor) was arrested. A number of French 75 members were hunted down and killed, while Bob and Willa managed to escape to safety, living off the grid. Perfidia was the love of Bob’s life, so it’s no surprise he’s cranky and withdrawn in seclusion. Turning to alcohol and marijuana seems inevitable. Willa represents the next generation, and the two couldn’t be more different. Living off the grid comes with its own rules, though—no cell phones, no distractions.

DiCaprio describes his character in One Battle After Another as “a don’t tread on me, anti-establishment, hippie revolutionary who is paranoid about anything and everything.” That paranoia becomes more than personality quirks when Lockjaw goes after Bob and Willa years later. He’s motivated by the Xmas Adventurers Club, a white nationalist group with strict rules. I’ll leave it there to avoid spoilers.

At its heart, One Battle After Another is about family. The revolutionary plot provides scope, but the emotional center is Bob’s reaction when Willa goes missing. Anderson injects humor into the script, and it lands because it’s genuine. Watching Bob call the old French 75 and fail to get the info he needs is hysterical, and the comedy comes organically from his paranoia.

One thing that sets One Battle After Another apart from typical action fare is Anderson’s choice to not rely on CGI, opting for practicality whenever possible. The set pieces feel grounded and substantial, including a car chase near Highway 78 in Borrego Springs. It might not reach the heights of Bullitt or The French Connection, but it has its own thrilling, unpredictable energy. With so many genre elements at play, it doesn’t belong to a single genre, which makes it stand out.

The film isn’t flawless—the 161-minute runtime really shows in the final half hour—but Anderson’s vision is bold and rewarding. One Battle After Another is very much PTA at his offbeat best.

DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Paul Thomas Anderson
CAST: Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, Chase Infiniti

Warner Bros. Pictures will release One Battle After Another in theaters on September 26, 2025. Grade: 4/5

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