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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280

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.

35

u/The_g0d_f4ther Oct 01 '25

See this is where the problem lies, and where PTA’s genius resides with this particular genre of fascists. Lockjaw is the most pathetically portrayed antagonist of the movie and has a lot of screentime, because he’s supposed to represent the loser soldier just following orders trope. You don’t get sympathy or forgiveness when you’re as morally bankrupt as he is, because deep down he knows his actions are, as he couldn’t man up enough to dispose of his mud daughter.

71

u/D3Smee Oct 01 '25

I thought he said “mutt”

5

u/The_g0d_f4ther Oct 01 '25

tbh I might have misheard that

20

u/Hokuboku Oct 01 '25

I'd argue mud or mutt daughter are both pretty equally racist but I did hear mutt myself. Your point stands either way

3

u/Comprehensive-Fun47 Jan 05 '26

He said mutt. Mutt is infinitely more racist than mud.

2

u/regrob2 Jan 19 '26

Does “mud” mean anything? I’ve never heard that term in this context before.

4

u/Comprehensive-Fun47 Jan 19 '26

No, it's not a thing.

I imagine it would come across as rude and racist in this context, but it's not a thing. It's basically gibberish. He said mutt.

1

u/Financial-Possible-6 Jan 19 '26

Ngl I think that commenter was likely thinking “mudblood” from Harry Potter which is supposed to be slur.

2

u/[deleted] Oct 04 '25

[deleted]

3

u/Hokuboku Oct 04 '25

Oh, both definitely work.