PTA's One Battle After Another Garners Early Praise, Awards Buzz

Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, a black-comedy action film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, opened to near-universal praise ahead of its theatrical release on September 26, 2025, with critics applauding its blend of political satire, family drama and spectacle. The story follows Bob Ferguson, a washed-up former revolutionary played by DiCaprio, who is pulled back into violent conflict when his daughter, Willa, is kidnapped, setting off a frantic rescue that reunites him with old comrades and confronts an authoritarian U.S. police state.

Critics have singled out the performances, scale and tonal audacity of the film. Reviews aggregated early on review sites gave the picture a 97 percent approval rating, and many commentators described it as among Anderson’s finest works and a likely awards contender. DiCaprio’s portrayal of a flawed, sometimes comical protagonist has been called both unhinged and heartbreakingly human, while Chase Infiniti, in her feature debut as Willa, was widely praised for commanding the screen opposite him. Sean Penn plays the vindictive law enforcement officer who catalyzes the action, and supporting turns by Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, Benicio...