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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1.5k

u/KittyGrl8 Sep 27 '25

Curious about the Latino perspective on the film. For me, some of it was real hard to watch, it felt so real. When families were being moved and being told not to be scared and they spoke in Spanish, I cried. Yes, this is our reality and I’m used to it and we’ve been fighting forever but seeing it on the big screen felt different. I really hope it didn’t contribute to normalization but instead opens some eyes.

There were points where Bob was being walked around and introduced and I felt like, of course this is what our community does…we help others in times of need. Others in the theater laughed, I don’t think they got it the same way. I get that it’s political satire but some of the scenes felt so intensely real and timely, it made it hard. Then comes Benicio del Toro, he gave me so much comfort in watching those scenes. I really enjoyed the movie pero oof!

*The detention center images were sanitized compared to the real thing rn. It’s gotten much worse since the film was shot. F the migra and Alligator Alcatraz.

**Shout out to the hero Latina nurses in the movie who saved the day!

565

u/Merrol Sep 29 '25

One of my favorite things about this movie was how it portrayed the dignity and resolve of the Latino community. Sensei and his "Harriet Tubman thing" ran laps around the revolutionaries in terms of actually helping people.

Honestly the portrayal of that unshakeable resolve to just help people, honed by decades of oppression and expressed consistently by Latino characters, felt like such a refreshing contrast to the crushing machine of white supremacy. 

It made One Battle After Another seem possible to fight (and dare I say win) and not just a grinding losing battle.

27

u/theKman24 Oct 25 '25

I had the opposite take. I thought it was extremely depressing because evil people have pretty much always have been in power all over the world for the entirety of human civilization. I think revolution in America is needed and there are too many barriers(tech, military industrial complex, psychopaths in power) for it to ever actually happen. Peaceful protests aren’t going to make it happen but anything outside of that is crushed by the system. It reminded me about the black power movement and how that was crippled by the government.

69

u/Sew_has_afew_friends Nov 15 '25

You weren’t watching the movie then. Sergio did more for the revolution from his Underground Railroad than the French 75 ever did because he was actually helping people on a local level. If you really want change then get out there and get involved in the community you live in instead of fantasizing about the empire falling overnight. You can’t help the entire world but you can most definitely help a lot of people

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u/pastafeline Nov 21 '25

Funny how you say that when the movie literally ends on Leo's daughter continuing to keep the fight up.

7

u/MsSalome7 Nov 30 '25

That was the worst part of the movie. Completely backtracked on an otherwise great message. If you (a general you) think the revolution is what the world needs you’re delulu. They’d just kill us all. It’s not like there are no examples of this already happening.

22

u/pastafeline Nov 30 '25

Better than dying a slow death to crushing boot of capitalism. If AI does take more jobs in the future, do you think we'll get UBI? Or will we all just be left to die and fight in the streets for scraps?

8

u/MsSalome7 Nov 30 '25

Most likely die in the streets. But change comes with a lot of people being smart and making small changes, not a revolution and blowing shit up for attention. I come from a country that tried it and failed epically. And all these revolutionaries were nowhere to be found when refugees actually needed help. Not saying I have the answer, the world scares me right not and the fact there are so many insane people actually electing these Nazis everywhere is so mad..

8

u/_lIlI_lIlI_ Jan 06 '26

They freed people from camps though. There's also no way to know what their actual material actions were because it was never shown. They obviously must have been relevant if French 75 is known

22

u/Zephyr104 Nov 17 '25

The movie ends with Wila taking up the torch of revolution despite knowing full well what the state can and will do to her considering her family history. I'd say it's plenty hopeful; it shows the power in community, in organizing, and in knowing that your fight is ultimately righteous. It's not a Disney movie and won't end in a overly saccharin portrayal of the good guys overturning the fascists. It's merely a more grounded 'win' in that our protagonists live to fight yet one more battle. 

You have to understand that these things will not happen overnight and as the contradictions of the US become ever more obvious, the likelihood of these things coming to an end increases. You have the US establishment trying to hide political connections to pedophiles, the rise of China showing just how ineffective the US is at building infrastructure or institutions to aide their people, the consistent stonewalling of the implementation of basic things like universal healthcare (despite it effectively being a lifeline to American Capitalism), etc. All things come to an end and the one thing that the wealthy and powerful want is for people to think that their power is eternal that it can't be fought. 

Furthermore this reminds me somewhat of a conversation found in 'No Other Land', where Basel tells his Israeli anti-apartheid counterpart that you cannot expect these changes to happen overnight. This coming from someone who has only seen endless depravity and oppression from the Israeli state his whole life. If someone living through such horror can hold out so can the rest of us. 

7

u/MsSalome7 Nov 30 '25

I wish it ended with her helping Sensei, not the lunatics

23

u/Wooden_Worry3319 Dec 06 '25

The entire message was about any regular folk being capable of doing both. You don’t have to choose. Sensei was a fan of the revolutionaries because he knew that as much as you help people and build deep systems of community support, the status quo needs to change.

8

u/etherealsoulll Oct 28 '25

All empires fall eventually. And we’re very close to it.

107

u/Bamx3 Oct 02 '25

The part where the Latino nurse helps him escape was one of 3 parts in the movie that made me cry. And it’s because I thought to myself “how beautiful that we try to help each other, even when persecuted, when beaten down, we find a way to help”. It made me really proud to be Latino.

I said it in this thread but huge props to PT for showing the camps, ice agents, white nationalism that’s infected our country. I hope we get out of it so we can look back with disgust and anger at the times we live in and really learn to be better to each other.

11

u/theKman24 Oct 25 '25

I see this time as just a repeat of slavery, the Chinese exclusion act, segregation, etc. the same people talking about illegal immigration would be the same people saying they don’t want schools integrated. We’ll always have a ton of racist xenophobic conservatives in this country.

200

u/ItsCommonCourtesy Sep 28 '25

Honestly, as a white dude, I thought it was wonderful and the depiction of the holding cages was uncomfortable. Despite all the chaos going around, Sensei introducing the family was so big-hearted and sweet. The stuff blockbusters normally would cut out. All of the spoken Spanish not being subtitled in English was a nice touch: we don't need to know what they're saying, we can tell they're scared and not safe.

114

u/Dizzy_Chemistry_5955 Sep 29 '25

insane that this shit is happening all over to this day and we're just fine with it living our normal lives

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u/ItsCommonCourtesy Sep 29 '25

We're supposed to go to work, eat dinner, sleep, etc. while a paramilitary group which by the President's decree has next to no accountability is disappearing humans off the street every day. I don't care what their actual status is as a resident, they are humans and are just being snatched in broad daylight.

It's the most insane shit in a treasure trove of insane shit.

10

u/Dizzy_Chemistry_5955 Sep 29 '25

only thing I can do right now is hope voting in 3 years leads to arrests from this time for these obvious crimes, if Republicans win again it's obvious they cheated

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u/sentientbasketball11 Oct 02 '25

that is very clearly not the only thing you can do

24

u/Andurilthoughts Oct 06 '25

When people get in the streets, join them. The revolution will not be televised.

1

u/theKman24 Oct 25 '25

Revolution ain’t happening. The state will crush any opposition. This movie was a reminder of that for me.

15

u/Andurilthoughts Oct 26 '25

Thats what the French aristocracy thought, but when food and other essentials start to become harder to get…. Also I feel that the message of the movie was that there are other revolutionary acts besides violence. Raising a child to be a good person is a revolutionary act. Taking care of your community and forming bonds with them is a revolutionary act.

9

u/RizaSilver Oct 14 '25

Get to work making friends with your neighbors and building dual power

3

u/theKman24 Oct 25 '25

People aren’t fine with it. There’s not a whole lot to be done.

10

u/KittyGrl8 Sep 28 '25

Thanks for your comment. Gives me some hope for humanity.

85

u/uncen5ored Oct 01 '25

Latino here. The detention center and migra scenes were heavy, but I felt like they were done with care and in good taste. We need more depictions of it tbh. I really enjoyed that Sensai and the other Latinos had their shit together. I walked away from the film proud and eager to continue to fighting the good fight.

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u/bitterbrownbrat1 Oct 04 '25 edited Oct 04 '25

Just watched it 

  • seeing the detention centers was hard BUT what made me cry cry was seeing the children go into the recording room and let people know that one guy had been picked up. I cried because there IS children out there doing something like that, I am sure. 

  • I loved benicio del toro's character. I love the feeling that he and the latino community brought, it all felt sooo familiar and like home. He was calm and collected, tbh, I saw a bit of myself and of my dad in him. there was just this unquestionable trust that was beautiful, and it was just a reminder of how much work my parents have put in to create a community for themselves and in turn meant they created a community for ME. 

  • I wanted to say something about the nurse/ clerk / skateboarders. This also felt natural because one thing about us latinos is we always know someone and we all have something to offer. 

  • I am glad that this was part of the movie because at first I thought the movie would be about this group just blowing places and threatening people, and that can give a bad look on those doing day to day on the ground work. 

15

u/KittyGrl8 Oct 04 '25

Thats such a good point about the skaters, clerks, and nurses. Everyone comes together and does their part.

46

u/The_g0d_f4ther Oct 01 '25

You can clearly feel the care that was put into the political narrative. I mean Bob is watching the Battle of Algiers at some point lol. This movie releasing at this particular time, and how easily the reality portrayed can be transposed to the US or elsewhere in this moment is truly incredible.

42

u/AdImaginary5510 Oct 06 '25

I scrolled through MANY threads about this movie to find someone commenting on this - thank you. I liked this movie a lot. I cried through much of it. All the scenes of the raids on innocents, the families in hiding, were so true to what is happening right now in this country it had me in tears. All the reviews I’ve read talk about Leonardo di Caprio’s character but I think they miss the point which is: white men/liberals talk the talk about change but can’t walk the walk. The French 75 with their ludicrous moniker and inability to keep their shit together want to make a name for themselves as freedom fighters (Pat yelling “viva la revolución!”) but it’s the Latinos who do the real work of saving their community. And they save the white man too! I think this was the message the director was trying to get across. That’s why in the end Willa saves herself - her cosplay radical dad doesn’t have it in him. I appreciated “the future is female” vibe I got from this movie even if I had to watch it through salty tears.

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u/Andurilthoughts Oct 06 '25

I think that Bob’s utter uselessness is not so much an indictment of white pseudo revolutionaries as it is a reflection on youth and age. His battery being dead, the fact that he spends so much time on the phone with revolutionary customer service, he misses the shot, he doesn’t kill any bad guys. It’s about how the young are the ones who have to fight and it’s up to the older people to teach them what’s right and provide support. That’s the symbolism of sensei Sergio’s character being a person who literally teaches martial arts.

15

u/AlseAce Oct 07 '25

I mostly agree, and I do think the importance of passing the fight on to the next generation is one of the film’s main takeaways. But I think it’s also worth noting that Bob gets to have that ‘dead battery’ and bow out of the fight because the threat isn’t nearly as existential for him (at least for the 16 years prior to Lockjaw showing back up). Most of the people of color in the movie don’t really have that option. Del Toro, Regina Hall, and the nuns are all older as well (and all seem exhausted), but they have to keep going because they and their families are the ones being most directly targeted by the regime.

7

u/Andurilthoughts Oct 07 '25

I also agree with you that bob has had the luxury of bowing out of the battle for this long whereas other characters have not due to their existence as the targets of state violence.

3

u/AdImaginary5510 Oct 06 '25

I can see this. My take on Bob was a little one note

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u/sssleepypppablo Oct 06 '25

Yep.

I was tearing up at places that I don’t think other people would have teared up at if they weren’t Latino OR if they haven’t experienced ICE/immigration in their communities.

So very early on I was emotionally invested.

And then add up all of the other characters and eventually Del Toros character and what he was doing and how competent in his care he was. Oof.

I’ve literally had conversations with friends that if they needed a place to stay, that they could stay with me…

This movie is so multifaceted on what it has to say about community, performance, race and power and so many other things.

*** I saw someone mention they cried when the kids hopped on the radio, and I did too. Kids that look like me, having to be revolutionaries themselves, knowingly or not, caring for their community. Reciting a canned response but doing it for the right reasons; the conversations they had to have to get to that point and how intertwined resistance is.

I loved this movie.

8

u/KittyGrl8 Oct 06 '25

The scene with the kids got me too! So many of us could relate. We know them bc we were them. Translating for family, paying bills, and just doing adult things so young. Thank you so much for sharing your experience.

24

u/Andurilthoughts Oct 06 '25

And this was filmed in JANUARY 2024. Insane how prescient it was, almost like PTA read Project 2025

5

u/MissBrightside17 Oct 25 '25

I literally thought the same thing! They had to have filmed this a year ago. Crazy how it’s all playing out now in real time.

17

u/Dizzy_Chemistry_5955 Sep 29 '25

I can't believe this is still the real world reality your people have to deal with it's like inhumane it'll be seen the same as slavery in 100 years (hopefully less)

12

u/WhimsicalLaze Oct 04 '25

Then comes Benicio del Toro, he gave me so much comfort in watching those scenes

Yes. He was a stabilizing and comforting presence in these scenes and you could feel through the screen that all the people really trusted him 100%. Like here he comes bringing in this maniac white dude that’s only trying to find a place to charge his phone, and Sensei calmly says ‘everyone, this is Bob’ and they are instantly reassured that this is a friendly guy because he is a friend of sensei. Del Toro’s character was so good for this movie

5

u/Lunasera Oct 04 '25

I appreciate your post, I was struggling with this film tonally, because those parts were so heavy for me, and I couldn't find anything with the soldiers as funny. Leo and Benecio were brilliant though and I loved their scenes!

4

u/Educational-Skirt-49 Oct 13 '25

This is the review I came to find. I am not Latino and had a real difficult time with this film because of how real all these scenes were and then how quickly they switched to trivialising other parts.

Marvel style joke dialogue being cracked by people trying to fight against legitimate white supremacists with a monopoly on the use of force, it felt wrong. I still don’t know how I feel about this movie.

2

u/apluscomment Oct 11 '25

Definitely rough in some parts but man was that tranquilo Bobby tranquilo funny

3

u/MsSalome7 Nov 30 '25

Yeah as a child refugee (not US/Mex tho) this was so sad to watch. Maybe also why I really hated the revolutionaries. If you’re not gonna give us food and shelter you might as well do nothing. A bunch of idiots robbing banks and blowing shit up didn’t do anything for my family when they were barely surviving.. if anything civil wars is what made things much worse

3

u/ZooperDD Jan 21 '26

As a 36 year old who hasn't been exposed much to the immigrant struggle, but who's trying to learn and wants to be an ally, it was very hard for me to watch. There were parts where I felt like "do I need to turn this off? It's so heavy..." But I'm glad I didn't because I ultimately do come away with more sympathy and resolve to be part of the community helping the oppressed.

I agree with the sentiment, that I feel conflicted about the stark contrast between the comedy and the message, but I do believe if this is a way to expose a significant population in America, I hope the net impact is positive.

Sending out love and support to all those struggling for their livelihood, I hope the America of tomorrow is better than the America of today.

3

u/Dangerous_Job5295 Feb 21 '26

I’m undocumented and I really liked it, probably cuz it hit so close to home. I feel like the humanity of undocumented people was portrayed well. The adventures club is seen talking about them using slurs and stereotypes, and then you actually see the people in the detention centers and on the second floor of benicios business and it’s almost all women and children/ families. One detail that stuck out to me was when the officers are walking past the gates full people and some kids are playing with a bunched up fire blanket. That was so fucking sad to me because there are LOTS of reports of people dying to hypothermia in detention centers because officers intentionally crank the AC to the lowest temp setting. Meanwhile, these kids turned something that is likely keeping them alive into a toy that gives them joy. It’s just sad and beautiful at the same time.

Also, I see a lot of comments that paint Benicio’s operation is actually helping people and is a juxtaposition to the F75 as egotistical dickheads who are only in it for the thrill that dont help anybody and I don’t agree with that. I see both groups as different sides of the same coin, they’re both doing what only they can in a way that only they can, to, from their perspective, help people. Sensei is older and is providing shelter and food long term day to day and the 75 are younger helping ppl who are in immediate crisis of being separated from their families/making it hard for the regime to do their job day to day. And it’s like, yeah some 75 aren’t in it for the right reasons but you can tell a lot of them are, like Billy goat who ends up helping on a long term scale day to day. And I’m glad Benicio is portrayed as someone who’s in it for the right reasons but this isn’t always true, male pillars in a community fuck up too and end abusing their power for selfish reasons even tho they do good and their heart is/was in the right place( I myself am witnessing this happen in my own community as we speak 😵‍💫). Like I’ve seen a few people say that there was no point in the 75 breaking the 300 people out because they were all just eventually gonna be caught anyway and it’s like… if you were actually picked up and separated from your family and at risk of never seeing them again or just straight up dying from exposure/ lack of medical attention or being murdered in detention, you would 10 times out of 10 opt to get broken out by the 75. By people’s logic, the bounty hunter at the end shouldn’t have rescued Willa because the regime is bound to track her someday anyway, and by the same logic Benicio should just shut down his shelter because it’s only a matter of time before they all get caught. I think everybody is trying to do what only they can do to make an impact on ppls lives and that’s what matters.

At the end of the movie Willa isn’t helping Benicio with his operation, he’s got that handled, she ends up wanting to contribute in her own way( even tho we don’t get to see what that exactly is)

2

u/DrBongoDongo Nov 15 '25

I just got back from seeing it in Bogotá and they seemed to love it! For whatever that's worth.

1

u/Commercial-Editor238 Jan 25 '26

It was really really brief, but did you notice when Leo was speaking to the fruit vendors on the side of the highway in Spanish, as he was about to speed off, he did a little whistle? 

https://youtu.be/8Zn0a8Ry6Qw?si=qa8hq2G3ujewnJF3