By Aydan Cantu

If you’re someone who knows something about movies, chances are you have heard the name Paul Thomas Anderson—or his nickname PTA—before. Along with Quentin Tarantino, Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach, and Christopher Nolan, Anderson is one of the best filmmakers of his generation. Throughout his three decade career, the filmmaker has delivered countless masterpieces such as Boogie Nights, Magnolia, There Will Be Blood, The Master, and Phantom Thread. And over those three decades, Anderson has amassed 11 Oscar nominations, but has never won; yet his latest feature, One Battle After Another might finally earn Anderson his long overdue Oscar. 

One Battle After Another stars Leonardo DiCaprio (his first movie with PTA) as Bob Ferguson, a former revolutionary that goes on the run to find his daughter (Chase Infiniti, in her film debut) after a former enemy (Sean Penn) resurfaces after 16 years. Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, and Teyana Taylor also star. 

I would be shocked to see if another film surpasses One Battle After Another as my favorite movie of 2025. It’s exhilarating from start to finish with some of the best car chases put to film up there with The French Connection and Bullitt. And for a film that runs nearly three hours, the runtime flies by. 

One big reason the film’s runtime flies by is the strength of the performances. The performances are incredible. DiCaprio is at his best here, giving my favorite performances of his since 2019’s Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood. His comedic timing is perfect and a huge reason why he needs to do more comedies. Here’s hoping he gets another Oscar nomination. 

Another vastly entertaining performance is Penn’s, whose portrayal of Col. Stephen J. Lockjaw is nothing short of brilliant. Penn’s Lockjaw plays more as a cartoon villain, than an actual villain. His walk, his dialogue, his mannerisms—his performance is so cartoonish, you’ll die of laughter. Unless another performance blows me away, I’m rooting for Penn to win for Best Supporting Actor at next year’s Oscar—which if he did, it would make him the seventh person in the history of the Academy Awards to win both male acting categories. 

Del Toro is equally brilliant, with his comedic timing through the roof. He and DiCaprio’s chemistry together is amazing, and had me rolling with laughter. Like Penn, I hope del Toro can snag a Best Supporting Actor nomination next year. 

I also loved  Taylor’s performance. She’s only in the first hour or so, but her performance is electric, demanding every scene she’s in. 

Infiniti and Hall did great jobs too, but didn’t do much for me as the former four. 

Anderson’s direction is superb. The film is his most ambitious and a massive swing, and boy does it pay off. The same goes with the cinematography, sound, and film editing. All are a tour-de-force and better win Oscars!

One Battle After Another is nothing short of a masterpiece. Going into the film and hearing all the massive hype, I took it with a grain of salt, because I didn’t want my expectations to get destroyed. And as you can see that did not happen. Because believe the hype. Trust me, it’s a film you don’t want to miss on the biggest screen you can. One Battle After Another is a film I’m still comprehending. It’s an experience that left me overwhelmed, thinking about it long after finishing it. Once again, PTA cooked, leaving me with a final rating of five out five stars.