One Battle After Another is sure to be one of the most critically heralded movies of the year. On paper, that might seem obvious. This film is written and directed by 11-time Academy Award nominee Paul Thomas Anderson, maker of Boogie Nights, Magnolia, There Will Be Blood, Inherent Vice, Phantom Thread, and Licorice Pizza. True to Anderson’s form, it boasts a compelling ensemble cast that includes big names like Leonardo DiCaprio, Regina Hall, Benicio del Toro, Sean Penn, and Teyana Taylor, as well as incendiary new talent Chase Infiniti. And on some level, it’s inspired by a dense novel, Thomas Pynchon’s Vineland. But don’t let the wild praise make you think you know what to expect.
Ferocious, funny, and jam-packed with provocation, One Battle After Another is a film so explosive in its ideas and execution that I doubt any one review can encapsulate all it’s got going on. So, allow me to use my review to stress this: Whatever you’re anticipating from Anderson’s latest, this movie is more.
Believe the hype: One Battle After Another is a banger.
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