One Battle After Another is a drama/thriller based on the 1990 novel Vineland by Thomas Pynchon. It follows Pat/Bob(Leonardo DiCaprio) a member of a far-left militant group during his active years(in the prologue) with the bulk of the story happening years later as he is separated from his daughter and both of them are on the run from government agents.
DiCaprio continues a bit of a plateau in his career, he's not bad here he's just not particularly interesting or dynamic, and as the lead that's a problem. Surprisingly, the most nuanced character is Sean Penn as the heavy, his performance full of eccentricity and depth. Closely followed by Benicio del Toro who also builds in quirk and backstory and makes the character come alive. Teyana Taylor is wonderful and electric but she's only in the prologue. Regina Hall is woefully underused and Chase Infiniti is good but her subplot seems like an after thought. The rest of the extensive supporting cast have such brief appearances they can't do much.
Visually the film is dynamic and rich, a return to form for writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson after the bland look of Licorice Pizza and the script is an improvement too but it is bloated and unfocused. There are too many threads, too many subplots, too many ideas, and none of it really comes together. At a sprawling almost three hour runtime the storytelling feels indulgent and isn't particularly satisfying either as a character study or as a socio-political message.
Not equal to the sum of its parts.
Currently in theaters.
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