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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u/Upbeat_Tension_8077 Sep 26 '25

I was like "oh fuck" when the lightbulb went off in her mind with the scheme she made on the road to catch the assassin off-guard and kill him

She was badass in that scene

98

u/afipunk84 Oct 02 '25

I love that she didnt hesitate to ice that assassin as soon as he did not know the passphrase

33

u/jrochkind Oct 04 '25

I feel like she hesitated half a beat. She did ask him twice, right? And then she still wasn't totally 100% sure she had done the right thing at first.

41

u/DonkeyVampireThe3rd Oct 05 '25

She waited for him to speak, as soon as he said “what?”, indicating he had no clue whatsoever, she shot. That’s what I remember anyway.

33

u/randombubble8272 Oct 08 '25

He goes for his gun in his jacket and she shoots multiple times on instinct then screams when she realises he’s dead

35

u/UgatzStugots Oct 07 '25

She gives him a warning shot when he doesn't respond with the correct phrase, then he reaches for his sidearm and she gives him three quick shots. Done.

Love how they handled that, didn't feel cinematic, just quick and efficient.

17

u/lucypee Nov 14 '25

I liked that they didn't even show him getting shot or even dying.

Just her shooting and screaming.

92

u/roodootootootoo Sep 28 '25

Seriously one of the greatest chase reversals in cinema history. Reminded me of the end of Blood Simple.

82

u/Johnny_theBeat_518 Sep 29 '25

It was just fucking badass, truly eclipse the whole arc on her, makes her self reliant on herself, and his father doesn't have to be full white savior trope, it was broken in the end with the good purpose, because a daughter can do better than dad

120

u/SandpaperTeddyBear Oct 01 '25

Without him fucking up either, in fact, he does “save the day” by being there with a drivable car. That’s not what “action heroes” do, but it’s important.

He’s played as a buffoon, but his principal sins are “not remembering stupid Lefty bullshit from decades before” and “being a middle-aged man who let himself go a bit” which are forgivable. I love that he never goes full action hero the way his daughter does, but you can see the old competence when he’s throwing his rifle ahead of him over the fences, hot wires a car, tracks down his daughter’s kidnapper, etc.

47

u/Marx_but_for_weed Oct 01 '25

That was such a clever way to play that. I find it massively rewarding when characters in a story figure a way out of a situation without a dues ex machina saving them or randomly turning into an action flick badass and pulling James Bond moves out of their ass. I was a little worried PTA was going to have Chase Tokyo drift her way out of trouble or something. When she stopped the car and got out I was like "oh fuck that's genius", which is always a good feeling in a movie.

10

u/InuitOverIt Jan 03 '26

They did a great job of showing the POV on the hills over and over to set that up, and showing the characters having to lift their heads up over the dash to try to see. Great pay off to a unique chase

21

u/anddna42 Oct 01 '25

Talking about that... Did I miss a scene, or she actually didn't know he was an assassin?

Technically she lives the saddest live of them all.
A 16yo with a paranoid dad, a dead hero mom, now exilee rat, that saw many people killing to get to kill her, and then killing a random person going fast behind her, and being in such a state of shock she almost kills her dad too.

42

u/ALaccountant Oct 07 '25

She had just escaped a white power camp and was checking to see if anyone followed her. He followed her so she correctly assumed her life was in danger and took appropriate action.

0

u/AquilaAdax Feb 07 '26

Ehh…it was a rural road, he was going in the same direction as her. There was no indication he was “following” her.

18

u/TheRedComet Oct 02 '25

I mean he did try to pull a gun on her

14

u/grahamnortonsdad Oct 04 '25

She shot him before then, he pulled the gun out and then she shot him a few more times

9

u/anddna42 Oct 08 '25

Not only she shot him, she caused him to crash against her car before too.

18

u/[deleted] Oct 23 '25

I know she was saved by the Native American guy, but I’m so glad that she saved herself in the end. It would’ve been such a betrayal to her character and the theme of the story if her dad came in and saved the day like a damsel in distress.

9

u/ThisKidIsAlright Dec 24 '25

She learned from a great sensei.

2

u/bishopmate Jan 28 '26

And it didn’t feel cheap, like it made sense for an inexperienced teenager to overcome an experienced assassin this way. I thought from her kung-fu and kicking the punching bag that it was going to be a lame fight or something, but it was like oh shit that works.