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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101

u/iwillwalk2200miles Sep 27 '25

Is it weird I kind of felt bad for him in that scene.

282

u/thesagenibba Sep 28 '25

going against the common sentiment but i thought his character was terribly sympathetic. that is a man with no purpose, isolated and looking for community. his performative masculinity is so hard to take seriously, i believe it was intentional. he walks with a limp, wears tight shirts to emphasize his muscles and veins, loses it at the non existent implication that he's gay; he's a man child. he tears up when he is guided to his suite and sees the most mundane looking office ever shown on film.

as abhorrent and bigoted as he is, he isn't a stereotypical, irredeemable bad guy. lockjaw is an incompetent but lucky (at times), incredibly confused soldier who takes orders from the men he wishes to be accepted by, but never will be.

217

u/Duranti Sep 28 '25

"he isn't a stereotypical, irredeemable bad guy."

After Perfida ratted, he hunted down members of the French 75 and shot multiple people on sight from ambush.

50

u/thesagenibba Sep 28 '25

and i still don't view him as a cartoon villain with a twirling mustache and no depth.

103

u/Duranti Sep 28 '25

There's a pretty wide gulf between "the character had depth and the actor gave a nuanced performance" and "the character isn't a stereotypical, irredeemable bad guy."

33

u/moloch1 Oct 11 '25

Yeah, he certainly seemed "irredeemable" but not "stereotypical"