One Battle After Another: PTA and the Death of Revolutionary Cinema

[brandnewlow]

This movie was great. If you liked thoughtful almost-action movies No Country for Old Men or even something like The Fugitive, you’ll enjoy this. There are cinematic set pieces as beautiful as anything I’ve seen in years (the rooftop sequence!) the acting is stellar throughout, and the finale gives an original take on one of the most common film plot devices of all time.

The film’s politics are very progressive/liberal so I can imagine that deterring some viewers but PTA adds a lot of nuance and subversion throughout that make it more of an examination of radicalism than a straight trumpeting of it. As mentioned in another comment the radical characters often disagree and are shown taking very different strategies that then produce very different outcomes.

[rakejake]

Reviews are very hit or miss nowadays (mostly miss for me), but the verdict for One Battle After Another is absolutely correct.

For those of you who are on the fence wrt watching this movie, the politics and the revolutionaries simply form the backdrop for the story. The movie is ultimately a chase-thriller and the cinematic pleasure on screen is just incredible. If you are a fan of superbly shot and staged set-pieces, this movie is for you.

[weikju]

Paul Thomas Anderson, not parents-teachers association. Had to read a bit till that became obvious

[stephen_cagle]

I feel like this review needs a huge amount of context on PTA and his previous films to create any sort of justification for this film. That... that does not seem like a good movie to me.

[BryantD]

I think you’re mistaking the review for the movie. The review is written for people with that deep context and with an interest in peeling back all the layers PTA put in his movie. The movie itself works well as an action movie, and works very well as a meditation on the way parents burden their kids, and so on.

[irons]

You're talking about one of the best-reviewed movies in years. https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/8936-one-rave-after-...

[BoorishBears]

I prefer this review for its accuracy: https://boxd.it/beixJD

[rakejake]

The review does not mention Deandra (played by Regina Hall) at all, among other black characters who weren't negative representations per se. Deandra is very prominent in the second act of the movie and her responsibility and dedication to the mission is quite apparent.

[gjgtcbkj]

Yep really sincere reviews use the word jungle pussy. The right wingers are just grabbing them all the time.