One Battle After Another, 2025

The pacing is quite great for such a lengthy movie, and the cinematography is beyond amazing. I particularly appreciated the camerawork during the car chase scenes, although my father thought they were far too long.

The entire cast delivers exceptional performances. I loved Leo’s complex character, he was phenomenal in this film! Sean Penn also gave a remarkable portrayal of a deadbeat struggling with a distorted understanding of love and power. The comedic timing throughout the film is spot-on, making my family and me laugh out loud frequently.

I really enjoyed watching it; the film truly embodies the phrase “one battle after another,” with engaging scenes one after another, showcasing characters struggling non-stop. It captures chaotic, overwhelming energy and presented it brilliantly. I had a great time viewing it as both a dark comedy and family drama.

However, I’m somewhat baffled by the hype surrounding this movie as a masterpiece. In my opinion, while the storytelling from a filmmaking perspective is top-notch, the story itself falls short.

I didn’t appreciate how they tiptoed around delivering an entertaining wild ride while simultaneously attempting to approach political and social commentary with a grounded tone. This attempt to blend of political components and social critique within a comedic storyline results in a lack of coherence, in my opinion. The frequent shifts between absurdity and critique felt jarring, disrupting the narrative flow and pulling me out of the story at times. This made the story feel underdeveloped, lacking depth and clarity, with mixed messages. 

As a result, I don’t believe it succeeds as a political critique or an exploration of revolutionary versus conservative ideologies. It seems to take jabs at all sides without pulling any real punches. I’ve been thinking on this movie for weeks and still can’t pinpoint its core message.

The story’s scale also felt too limited. Out of the storylines and potential angles they could have picked from this rich setting, they chose to only focus on an alcoholic dad who no longer cares about politics—or even his own life—as the focal point of the story. Honestly, as it stands, I feel like removing the political elements wouldn’t drastically change the story that much.

The final act was also largely underwhelming, with resolutions that felt unearned, reducing the characters to mere vehicles for concluding the plot. Many characters come across as archetypes with one-dimensional traits most of the time. This movie doesn’t truly feel like we’re watching real people.

I wish more time had been devoted to world-building and character development, particularly in exploring how the political factions interact within themselves and with each other, and how these dynamics impact everyday people. I wanted a deeper look at how the rebellion group and conservative (racist) factions operate beyond their leaders, and how this affects the protagonist—not just the one-dimensional junkie with a “fuck-all” attitude we saw.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie as a dark comedy mixed with family drama. The film nailed the emotional beats—from humour and heartfelt moments to pity and despair. However, the character arcs and political themes felt underdeveloped, leaving much to be desired.