Anderson absolutely nailed this one. I mean, he usually does nail pretty much everything he tries, but to make such a textually dense film that flows like a dream and overflows with laugh out loud moments, imaginative setpieces and biting satire (without ever descending to glibness) is really an achievement.

Just a film where you can soak in the filmmaking prowess. The editing - driven by Greenwood’s inspired score and perfectly pitched needle drops - manages to bring together lots of characters, subplots and tonal swings into a pacy, dynamic wonder. It moves in weird little movements and chapters, some with bold swings, but never feels inconsistent. So many smart framing choices, from Anderson’s trademark long tracking shots (one particular sequence as del Toro walks DiCaprio through an apartment complex really highlights that ability to create a long, flowing stretch of visual storytelling) to two of the more creatively staged car chases I’ve seen - all singing in VistaVision. The performances from DiCaprio and Penn manage to be funny and tragic (or, more accurately, despicable in Penn’s case), del Toro is hilarious, while Infiniti and Taylor are well up to what’s asked for them in less ‘big’ performances.

A perfect film for this moment in American history too. Its world of disillusioned revolutionaries and pathetic, rich white supremacists (‘Christmas Adventurers Club’ made me laugh almost every time they said it) feels very well tuned to 2025, despite a script that would have originated a few years ago and a source novel inspiration from decades ago. But despite (or because of) that sharp relevance and satire, this is Anderson’s most crowdpleasing film yet: full of action, laughs, setpieces and many feats of audacious filmmaking. Honestly, it might just be his best yet - no small thing from the director of There Will Be Blood and (a personal favourite) Punch Drunk Love. A triumph

Knockout first hour or so lives up to the overwhelming hype-- the rest of the film moves in such a straight line that it eventually runs on fumes. Leo amazing. Teyana amazing. Sean Penn magnificent. Obviously it is a great movie, duh-- but it sort of struggles to maintain the energy of that first act.

Paul Thomas Anderson's first Thomas Pynchon adaptation, Inherent Vice, was a lot of fun, but it was a story that lacked narrative drive, which made it rather unmemorable. If he learned a lesson there for his SECOND Pynchon adaptation, it's to basically jettison 90% of the book and make something simply inspired by it (with almost a surplus of narrative drive). I've had a bookmark in the middle of Vineland for 30 years, so I'm no expert, but flipping pages after watching One Battle After Another, I couldn't spot much commonality, not even the strange Pynchonesque names used in the script. Well, I guess the book does have a father and daughter run from their homes by a federal agent. PTA's version is a Film About Today(TM) despite its 60s/70s radical action - internment camps, immigration raids, ugly caricatures of racist secret societies (which someone aren't any weirder or worse than overt racist politicians), government agitators forcing reasons for violent police action... is it paranoia if they're really coming to get you? It's PTA, so his lead is dumb as rocks and yet extremely engaging. Leo DiCaprio actually excels at this kind of thing, and it's a lot of fun watching his over-the-hill, burnt-out revolutionary try to get his daughter back in the wake of a federal raid. Benicio del Toro is also a lot of fun as the cool and collected sensei who helps him out, as is Sean Penn's unpalatable federal agent, for that matter. One of Anderson's most mainstream efforts, it shines thanks to pitch-perfect performances, but also its setting, which is our own world at the point where absurdity hits the road. Given that movies take a while to make, PTA is on the cutting edge, here. I would call it prescient if it didn't expose the fact that these things had already been happening for a while.