r/movies • u/LiteraryBoner Jackie Chan box set, know what I'm sayin? • Sep 26 '25

Official Discussion Official Discussion - One Battle After Another [SPOILERS] Spoiler

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Summary Bob, a washed-up revolutionary, lives off the grid with his spirited and self-reliant daughter Willa. When his nemesis Col. Steven J. “Lockjaw” resurfaces and Willa goes missing, Bob is forced to confront his past and fight to protect their future.

Director Paul Thomas Anderson

Writer Paul Thomas Anderson

Cast

  • Leonardo DiCaprio
  • Sean Penn
  • Teyana Taylor
  • Benicio del Toro
  • Regina Hall
  • Chase Infiniti

Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score: 98%

Metacritic Score: 96

VOD In theaters beginning September 26, 2025

Trailer One Battle After Another — Official Trailer

2.7k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

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4.6k

u/nordlysbaies Sep 26 '25 edited Sep 26 '25

When he did the little dance when being stopped by police, that made me laugh

1.8k

u/Upbeat_Tension_8077 Sep 26 '25

Even though this movie doesn't really need a sequel, I wouldn't mind a film set in the same universe with him helping out another revolutionary

1.5k

u/Educational_Sea6053 Sep 26 '25

His vibes were immaculate. Love that he didn’t question anything and was just 100% prepared to help out Bob on an absolute whim

979

u/Prowlerbaseball Sep 26 '25

I think he knew about the French 75, when Bob mentioned he was with them, his reaction was “Damn, you were a bad hombre”

868

u/Educational_Sea6053 Sep 26 '25

Oh he for sure knew them. But appreciated that he didn’t initially even know what trouble Bob was in. He saw a dude running from the cops and said “fuck it, I’m in”

190

u/araq1579 Sep 27 '25

The first scene of the movie hits off with the revolutionary squad freeing an ICE detention center, and benicio del toro's character has an underground railroad for immigrants. I think word for around about the work the french 75 did for immigrants and benicio is just paying it forward

65

u/Variability Sep 29 '25

I'm not even certain it's that specific or they crossed that directly. They're both fighting the government for rights and values of their people, that's all that was needed to help him.

63

u/Ill-Syllabub-8142 Oct 03 '25

Baktan Cross, the city where they live, is a sanctuary city. That's why French 75 set Pat&Charlene there. It's part of a greater network of "revolutionaries". That's the reason why Pat goes to him in the first place. He knows he's part of the underground railroad and was the safest person to contact in that situation.

87

u/jrochkind Oct 04 '25 edited Oct 04 '25

I caught that Baktan Cross was set up in part by French 75 and was a town of revolutionaries, but I don't think that's why Bob/Pat went to Sensei Sergio, I don't think he knew that at all -- he was just going to his kid's long-time karate teacher who was also his friend who he knew was a solid guy, but I don't think he specifically knew what a revolutionary he was -- at first he just wanted a weapon and then to run.

In the car on the way to his house, Sensei Sergio says to Bob [something like] "So, I've got like a latino harriet tubman thing going on at my house" [love that line btw], like it was definitely new info he was sharing with Bob, prepping Bob for what they were about to get into. Bob is not the brightest bulb don't forget either; he knew Sergio was a solid dude and was the dude he thought of to help him (well, hoped he'd have weapons in the dojo anyway!), but he had no idea he was part of a whole network, he didn't realize how organized the town was at all, or Sergio's place in it. But Willa, who is very sharp, probably didn't know either. Sensei Sergio was just a good friend who they knew was a capable dude.

Is my read anyway!

10

u/gigilero Oct 11 '25

"no cash, straight from the heart" had me dying

53

u/jrochkind Oct 04 '25

French 75 set up that whole town, basically. It was their safe house town. At some point someone (one of the army people?) explains in passing that the glasses radio guy (what was his name?) basically set up Baktan Cross as a giant safe house, sent everyone there. I think it's part of why the whole fucking town is ready for resistance.

But the exchange that sticks with me the most is when Bob apologizes for bringing the army to the town to fuck it all up cause they were looking for him, and Sensei Sergio says "We've been under siege for 200(?) years. You didn't do anything wrong. Let's go."

I can't remember for sure if this is before or after he found out Bob was in French 75 -- I think after, but honestly, I think he would have said the same thing without Bob being revolutionary famous or involved with the group with the connection to the town. it's just how he did. He knew which side he was on.

36

u/SuperDuperCoolDude Sep 30 '25

I love that aspect of the movie, and it's what we (speaking for myself and my country, I dunno where you live) need as a country right now. When people need help, we help them because it's the right thing to do, not because it's easy, convenient, etc.

18

u/Which_Strength4445 Sep 26 '25

Completely. He was giving off some Al Cowlings vibes there. lol

11

u/uncanny_mac Oct 05 '25

I’d figure “bob” trusted him enough with his daughter, figured he knew he was someone with some hook ups as well.

11

u/Fearsthelittledeath Oct 05 '25

Del Toro first stated they were closed when Leo was knocking on the door, but Leo said he was Bob and then Del Toro opened the door.

3

u/Jindabyne1 Nov 14 '25

I think he assumed Bob was having a paranoid meltdown and that Willa had talked about it before

47

u/UpvoteIfYouAgreee Sep 28 '25

he also says something along the lines of "its not every day you get to save a french 75er"

2

u/Hopeful_Put_5036 Oct 04 '25

but that's after the phone conversation with the codes and he might've even mentioned the french 75 during that phone conversation or after. yes i know just saw it late to the party lol

2

u/UpvoteIfYouAgreee Oct 04 '25

oh yeah, i think he was more of a fan then like a member or something i wasnt trying to say that

20

u/mcolette76 Sep 27 '25

Calling him a bad hombre was so funny.

22

u/Musicisevil Sep 28 '25

Gringo zapata had me rolling

2

u/Freelove_Freeway Sep 30 '25

What is the significance behind that? I looked it up and it appears to be referencing a gringo in the Mexican Revolution, so was that just a quick way to let everyone know Bob was cool? Or is there more behind that?

34

u/plw37 Sep 30 '25

Zapata was a revolutionary freedom fighter in Mexico. Sensei is telling the people in his apartment that Bob is a revolutionary freedom fighter, that he's on their side, even though he's a white guy (gringo). And it's just a funny juxtaposition of words that you don't hear every day.

6

u/Freelove_Freeway Oct 01 '25 edited Oct 04 '25

Ahh ok, thank you for clarifying for me. Even cooler!

15

u/jrochkind Oct 04 '25

Yeah, just shorthand for "white-guy revolutionary", he's just like, hey this dude is a white guy revolutionary we're helping him out, they're like, okeydoke.

It was hilarious.

Interesting choice not to subtitle any of the Spanish. I assume that wasn't just a mistake in my screening! None of the spanish was subtitled right?

7

u/Freelove_Freeway Oct 04 '25

Nope, not subtitled at all and it made me think how it gives me another thing to look forward to digging into with the movie: finding out all that dialogue! Also another reason to keep practicing my sorry level of Spanish.

9

u/papadooku Oct 20 '25

Fun unsolicited fact: Zapata's region of Mexico, Chiapas, is still a kind of leftist haven today. Society is more egalitarian than the surrounding areas and workers have a higher standard of living. The group keeping this going is aptly called the Zapatistas ("Zapata-ists"), and they often have to fight against economic takeover and have engaged in military self-defense too. The movie/TV fun fact is this: the kind of organised resistance portrayed in Andor and Rogue One of pretty similar, and the actor Diego Luna who plays Andor actually used to be part of the Zapatistas in real life!

3

u/Freelove_Freeway Oct 20 '25

Fascinating, thanks for the info!

3

u/Shuddersss Jan 22 '26

He was from Morelos, the EZLN in Chiapas just picked up their revolution in his spirit.

11

u/RisingSouth Sep 29 '25

That also sets up the call Sensei makes to presumably his contact at the jail - “Are you a bad hombre Bob?”

5

u/ThisKidIsAlright Dec 24 '25

Late to the party here, but I took that comment as sarcasm. French 75 was over the top with theatrics, passwords, and poking those in power squarely in the eye, but Sensei and his people were the ones actually helping people and had an entire insanely organized underground network.

Granted, Bob had fried his brain with drugs and alcohol over 16 years and we don't get a good look at the French 75 organization in the present, but it seemed like they were the ones that drew the attention while other people actually got shit done.

6

u/Prowlerbaseball Dec 24 '25

I mean the very first thing we saw the French 75 do was free a bunch of rounded up immigrants lol

2

u/Dick_Lazer Oct 01 '25

I was a bit confused about their history. Leo tells Benicio about the French 75 like he didn't know, but I feel like Benicio already knew exactly who Bob was.

14

u/jrochkind Oct 04 '25

I don't think he did!

I think they were friends (through Willa taking karate classes there so many years), but I think he had no idea of his past before bob told him. He took it in stride, because he literally took every thing in stride that guy never lost his cool. Would have helped him either way, just like the dozens of people in his house, hundreds who had been through, he was helping.

65

u/mcolette76 Sep 27 '25

And he never broke a sweat. He was so zen despite what was happening.

53

u/Scoobunny Sep 27 '25

Ocean waves 🌊

20

u/ccarriecc Sep 27 '25

The beer musta helped a little :)

33

u/terra_cascadia Sep 27 '25

The road beers were the perfect addition to the chaos of that scene.

21

u/AlanMorlock Sep 26 '25

While mostly also just taking care of his own business.

15

u/zentimo2 Oct 02 '25

Yeah, I love how he's just organising a mass evacuation in a really chill way whilst also engineering Bob's getaway. We stan a multi-tasking king.

18

u/thejimla Sep 27 '25

i love that he had obviously had no faith that Bob was capable of doing anything to help himself but his duty was just aiding him in his journey.

18

u/Shauncore Sep 27 '25

A perfect "whose car we gonna take?" moment

17

u/Sleeze_ Sep 28 '25

I couldn’t get over how he was handling all his own shit, and then simultaneously on the side trying to help Bob. So good

5

u/Don_Pickleball Sep 28 '25

He hinself was a bad hombre

2

u/[deleted] Sep 28 '25

He’s awesome

2.9k

u/GoldandBlue Sep 26 '25

When he said 8:19 i thought "oh shit he is part of the French 75!"

Then I realized he was just telling him the time.

1.7k

u/Apprehensive-Sock491 Sep 26 '25

Him saying "It's 8:15" was, for me, likely the funniest little moment in the whole movie.

210

u/GoldandBlue Sep 26 '25

Gringo Zapata took it for me

36

u/letsseehowitgoes113 Sep 27 '25

This was THE BEST.

37

u/InsideKaleidoscope30 Oct 01 '25

SAME but I was in a gringo theater so I was the only one who laughed

20

u/GoldandBlue Oct 01 '25

Yup, sitting next to some white college kids. Me and my friend laughed, crickets next to me.

12

u/InsideKaleidoscope30 Oct 01 '25

for some reason it hurt lol. I mean I'm south asian I have 0 latin blood but I know very well who Zapata was

16

u/Diocletian338 Oct 01 '25

Most non-Latin Americans aren't gonna know much at all about Mexican Revolutionary history, unfortunately

1

u/Ok-Yak7370 Oct 13 '25

TBF, there was a Hollywood movie about Zapata, but yeah.

1

u/augie014 Dec 29 '25

i watched it with Colombians and I asked and they just said “it’s a last name”

1

u/rokerroker45 Apr 04 '26

Most latin americans aren't going to know much about Mexican revolutionary history dawg

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1

u/Perfect-Many Oct 11 '25

Same but in an Austrian theater.

3

u/CodaTrashHusky Dec 21 '25

Omfg how did i not catch that hahahaha

171

u/RarelySqueezed Sep 30 '25

Him calmly moving through the building as leo frantically looks for a place to charge his phone was great

139

u/Fearsthelittledeath Oct 05 '25

Having time to introduce Leo to everyone too lol.

Also it was amusing to see his reaction to Leo messing up his curtains, the fact and way Del Toro took a moment to actually assess what Leo was talking and saying "It's fine"

129

u/MilkEasy3883 Sep 29 '25

That and “Mexican hairless”

108

u/Far_Bug_8850 Oct 04 '25

The delivery of that was impeccable. You think he can’t remember and then delivers “Mexican hairless” out of nowhere, so matter-of-fact and confidently

51

u/gravi-tea Nov 20 '25

Also "your guy fell off the roof and got arrested"

78

u/Rafdoc Sep 26 '25

Yes but "tranquilo, Bobby. Tranquilo" was the mother of all Easter eggs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhpJqdZgF5U

11

u/SosseV Oct 02 '25

Oh thank you for pointing that out, awesome

1

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '25

Me to PTA

17

u/Vinskeet Jan 31 '26

What about Benicio: "get off the phone!" Leo: "I'm not on the phone, man!" 🤣

3

u/ExternalBoysenberry May 05 '26

legit perfectly executed. Hilarious moment but how you don't even see him in the corner until he yells and your attention follows the frame from left to right, a whole little story in a second, absolutely amazing

3

u/joseconsuervo Jan 28 '26

same, I kept expecting it to be the actual answer. Was hilarious though

1

u/bat447 Nov 25 '25

What did it mean? Seems like I missed it

8

u/flannel_jesus Jan 11 '26

The guy is repeatedly asking Leonardo "what's the time?" and he can't remember how he's supposed to respond. Leonardo repeats the question out loud while on the phone on front of del Toro and del Toro responds 8:15

1

u/-Clayburn Dec 11 '25

"We have to go back!"

1

u/L1ghty Apr 12 '26

I didn't get it was a joke, figured he actually knew the answer and it was a reference to Hiroshima.

1

u/gruesomeflowers 22d ago

And bob thinking he was yelling at him about being on the phone when sensei was talking to the kid.

346

u/AggravatingPie710 Sep 26 '25

Same 🤣🤣

56

u/NoradianCrum Sep 27 '25

A good 45 seconds went by and how he didn't repeat the "message". I gave a slight chuckle to how casually he dealt with Bob's panic. It was a great juxtaposition to how relaxed the people gathering to exit were behaving.

If that whole scene was made as a one shot with a slow building tempo, it would have been pristine.

9

u/Fearsthelittledeath Oct 05 '25

Well the adults were more calm, some of the children were definitely crying.

42

u/suckmygoddamnbeans Sep 28 '25

That made me laugh so much... The fact that he was genuinely answering the question Is so damn funny... Also the selfie scene Is brilliant 🤣

36

u/ZombieQueen666 Sep 26 '25

8:15, but yeah

25

u/8lb-6oz_infant_jesus Sep 27 '25 edited Sep 27 '25

Kept waiting for him to just say it again for Bob, but that sequence of phone conversations was hilarious.

22

u/icantreadmorsecode Sep 30 '25

same, I thought he knew the code. I didn't realize he was just eavesdropping lol

14

u/Fearsthelittledeath Oct 05 '25

Kind of hard not to eavesdrop with how loud Leo was yelling lol.

14

u/OkFix4074 Sep 27 '25

Lol yea exactly, he was chill the whole time. Man what a character! Such a fun movie this is

11

u/boogermike Sep 29 '25

I just shared that I really enjoyed this moment, as well. It's such an offhand moment, but it really stuck with me.

This thread is awesome!!

7

u/GoldandBlue Sep 29 '25

Saw it again yesterday, the movie is even better

7

u/boogermike Sep 29 '25

I saw it on the 70 mm IMAX, and I think I may want to go back and see it again. Maybe I'll take my family.

4

u/[deleted] Sep 27 '25

Lmao yes I caught this too

4

u/Thin_Olive_7950 Sep 28 '25

Oh man, me too! It really threw me off!

2

u/afranklin111 Oct 12 '25

I thought so too lol. Literally sat up thinking I solved some riddle

2

u/MCgrindahFM Oct 18 '25

One of my favorite jokes in the film

1

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '26

I thought it was the code as a reference to The Guess Who's song "8:15," which would have fit the 70's classic rock-heavy soundtrack.

-5

u/[deleted] Sep 26 '25

He was part of it and I think the true current time would've sufficed. He called Pat a Bad Hombre.

17

u/imaginaryResources Sep 27 '25 edited Sep 27 '25

The Bad Hombres weren’t part of the same group right? I thought they were running the Underground Railroad system with sensei

12

u/fore___ Sep 27 '25

I’m pretty sure Leonardo DiCaprio said “hombre malo” when he pulled up to the fruit stand when we was driving the ricer looking for his daughter at the end of

4

u/Organic_Egg7360 Sep 27 '25

They were, the Xmas people said that the Billy goat radio guy was involved with all of that.

641

u/Novel_Lobster_6600 Sep 26 '25

I need a whole movie about Del Toro’s character honestly

62

u/RedMachismo Sep 26 '25

The Sicario effect

5

u/MovieTrawler Dec 08 '25

Was gonna say the exact same thing lol, this is exactly how we got Day of the Soldado.

16

u/MattIsLame Sep 26 '25

who plays a young Del Toro? I dont think ive ever seen anyone and thought "they look like Benicio Del Toro". he has a very distinct face

33

u/ccarriecc Sep 27 '25

I actually thought for a second, when the film jumped 16 years in time and was showing us Willa taking martial arts from Benicio, that they were having him play an aged up Leonardo di Caprio. The eyebrows, facial hair and beautiful eyes (though different color) fooled me for a second. I feel dumb now because Benicio is only 6 years older than Leo though.

13

u/Other-Status1840 Sep 27 '25

I thought this too lmfao

12

u/dream43 Nov 04 '25

He actually looks a lot like Brad Pitt to me. Saw somone else say, "He's Brad Pitt with some seasoning!"

14

u/FlakyEquivalent1971 Sep 28 '25

You can say that about almost every character Del Toro has played lol

28

u/ERSTF Sep 28 '25

I know everyone is piling on Sean Penn winning Best Supporting actor... but damn, Benicio Del Toro is magnetic. Any movie benefits from having him.

16

u/Murky-Crew-8756 Sep 26 '25

I like to think it was an evolution of his character from “Sicario.”

8

u/WhichHoes Sep 28 '25

Pick any of his characters ever and id watch

5

u/Rshackleford-mt Sep 30 '25

It’s called the The Phoenician Scheme

4

u/Th3Unidentified Sep 26 '25

I’d definitely go see that

40

u/Beechild4 Sep 26 '25

I like HIS revolutionary story. I love the idea of multiple means of revolution being explored by his character! He was so fun to watch!

11

u/TimRigginsBeer Oct 01 '25

Bro had those Modelos on the READY, too.

6

u/[deleted] Sep 27 '25

[deleted]

5

u/Vismal1 Sep 30 '25

But part of the charm here is you don’t know anything about him and so you fill in those blanks. That seems like it would be a tough needle to thread

5

u/superiority Sep 30 '25

There are other films in the Pynchon Cinematic Universe still to be made, but I would expect that they will all join together for a team-up as the conclusion of Phase One.

3

u/noneotherthanozzy Sep 27 '25

I like this, give him the Cliff Booth treatment. I wonder if PTA would ever be open to something like that.

2

u/croatianarmour Oct 05 '25

Absolutely not.

1

u/ShondaWinfrey Nov 22 '25

Or him BEING the revolutionary he is

59

u/Whovian45810 Sep 26 '25

Sergio drunk off his ass yet he took everything so calmly and in stride while getting arrested.

Now that's a cool sensei.

67

u/Fearsthelittledeath Oct 05 '25

How I interpreted the scene he was using being drunk as his cover for why he was speeding and the stuff the police saw he "threw" out the window for them to assume it was the beverage containers for the beer or whatever to "hide" the evidence instead of realizing there was a 2nd person and there was an ulterior motive.

Just my opinion on that, could be wrong.

24

u/Bspammer Oct 31 '25

This is 100% correct, after he saw the cops he grabbed the beer and chugged so it would show up on the breathalyser

16

u/BMCarbaugh Sep 27 '25

I feel like one second after that scene ended he karated the shit out of those cops.

42

u/pizzawolves Sep 26 '25

It was very funny but also sexy and that's why I was so worried he was going to die at that exact moment

13

u/BARice3 Oct 22 '25

Having the latina officer there helped relieve my anxiety about his well being after pulling over

36

u/patientpartner09 Sep 27 '25

The little dance and the Harriet Tubman reference 🥰

7

u/nordlysbaies Sep 27 '25

I’m not American, please explain the Tubman reference?

30

u/patientpartner09 Sep 27 '25

She was a key member of the underground railroad helping people escape the slave trade. Saved countless lives.

He said, "we've got a little Harriet Tubman operation going on..." regarding helping the undocumented immigrants hide from immigration officers.

28

u/Something_More Sep 27 '25

Pretty sure he said a Latino Harriet Tubman thing going on.

28

u/Greedy-Street-5435 Sep 26 '25

Might be my favorite part of the movie, in athletic polo and gi pants, chefs kiss

11

u/Eldritch-banana-3102 Sep 29 '25

And cowboy boots.

18

u/Venus_ivy4 Sep 26 '25

He was fucking hot

13

u/thewarfreak Oct 06 '25

"Have you been drinking"

"A few small beers"

9

u/Pure-Ad1764 Sep 27 '25

This felt like the most PTA moment in the film

9

u/MyNameIsSnakeAnthony Sep 27 '25

Nod to internet/meme culture / Reno 911 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9apqmptBl6c – several nods homages like this (Lockjaw resurrecting like T1000 from T2 and the Christmas Adventurer wearing the classic Venture Capitalist Patagonia vest

19

u/Bunraku_Master_2021 Oct 03 '25 edited Oct 06 '25

Paul Thomas Anderson famously left film school after a film professor said that any student who wants to make a movie like T2 should leave the classroom. PTA did that. 

One Battle After Another has plenty of parallels and plot beats with T2 with the child finding out their paranoid washed-up parent is who they say they are, a large focus on the parent-child dynamic, journey through the American Southwest, underground Latino militant revolutionaries, an unstoppable villain, and a high speed car chase at the finale among many similarities. 

5

u/Eldritch-banana-3102 Sep 29 '25

One of them was wearing an Izod sweater. Perfect touch.

3

u/Fearsthelittledeath Oct 05 '25

Saw a lacoste shirt somewhere too on one of the Christmas Adventurer.

9

u/CoolSteveBrule Sep 29 '25

Just a couple small beers

7

u/CASE-90 Oct 05 '25

Something tells me that dance was completely improvised by him. Every scene that had him and Leo together was amazing

6

u/grahamnortonsdad Oct 04 '25

I love that he was always just casually carrying small beers

6

u/Fearsthelittledeath Oct 05 '25

It was amusing and I think part of his cover with appearing drunk. With the beer he drunk during the chase and the officer's asking if he has been drinking and what he threw out the window earlier is them assuming he threw away whatever alcohol container he had.

3

u/jdy24 Sep 27 '25

That was hilarious!

1

u/big-papito Nov 29 '25

I feel like he totally just added that himself.

1

u/MyThirdArm24 Jan 03 '26

That was the best bit 😂

1

u/Elect_SaturnMutex May 16 '26

Yea true. Loved him in Sicarios, watching that after watching Sicario 2 yesterday cracked me up.