Movie Review: One Battle After Another (2025)
Synopsis: Pat Calhoun and his girlfriend, Perfidia, are members of the far left French 75 militant group, carrying out an attempted revolution near the Mexican border. When Perfidia gets pregnant and gives birth to a girl, Charlene, she decides she isn't ready to settle down, is arrested after an attempted bank robbery and turned into a rat by corrupt military officer Steven Lockjaw before fleeing witness protection and disappearing.
Sixteen years later, Pat, now going by the name Bob Ferguson, is addicted to drugs and alcohol while living off the grid with Charlene, now named Willa. His increased paranoia comes to fruition when Lockjaw leads a new manhunt - this time in an effort to find Willa because he believes she really is his daughter and is a potential scandal that would keep him from joining a white supremacy group.
Who's in it? The movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Chase Infiniti and Regina Hall.
Review: My wife had wanted to watch One Battle After Another for some time, but I had been hesitant because of the nearly 3-hour runtime (which had the potential to be four hours, with interruptions, in our house). However, the cold and rainy weather yesterday afternoon meant we were keeping warm on the couch earlier than usual, so I agreed to finally give it a try.
I am going to admit it, it was time well spent.
One of the main reasons I usually avoid movies that are more than two hours in length is there are very few that can justify being longer than 90 minutes. This is one of those rare movies I would describe as an exception to that. The story is complex enough where it needs the extra time to tell it in great detail, to make later events make more sense in context.
What really won me over though were the characters. Pat/Bob (DiCaprio) wasn't really anyone I would describe as a hero but was still a likable character overall. The fact he had spent a good chunk of his life as a father rotting his brain with drugs and alcohol also managed to add quite a bit of comedy to what was otherwise a dramatic role. I especially loved how he was trying to remember the various code words he hadn't used in sixteen years.
Sean Penn's Col. Lockjaw was an equally intriguing, albeit creepy character. He didn't seem particularly clever but was obsessive enough to do just about anything. There was also a legitimate question about whether or not he was Charlene/Willa's (Infiniti) father since the movie made sure to show his weird affair with Perfidia (Teyana Taylor) in probably a bit too much detail.
The film also had a ton of supporting characters that only added to the overall experience, whether it was Tim Smith (John Hoogenakker), the white supremacist sent to erase Lockjaw's past (and Lockjaw), "Sensei" Sergio St. Carlos (Del Toro), the karate instructor who secretly helps immigrants escape enforcement efforts and proves to be one of Bob's best allies or the gun-toting "nuns" who try to hide Willa.
My only real complaint about the movie is the Lockjaw story ends in a somewhat anti-climactic way without either Bob or Willa being involved. I'll stop short of saying I hated the way his story ended because I didn't. I just wish there would have been a bit more of a final battle between the heroes and main bad guy.
Final Opinion: It's a movie that takes a time commitment but is one of the few movies that is worth it. I enjoyed the film and do recommend it.
My Grade: A
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Here are some reviews of other movies from 2025:
Movie Review: Shiver Me Timbers (2025)
Movie Review: The Naked Gun (2025)
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