Benicio Del Toro (from left) Chase Infiniti, Leonardo DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor and Sean Penn pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'One Battle After Another' on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, in London. Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP

In Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another,” we meet a group of revolutionaries known as the French 75. During their latest mission, a siege on an immigration detention center, the group is revealed to have a close bond. Bob, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, is the explosive expert, while his girlfriend Perfidia, played by Teyana Taylor, is far more radical and enthusiastic in the mayhem they create.

Perfidia confronts and immediately taunts the highly ranked but deranged Col. Lockjaw, played by Sean Penn, and the two share a secret, sadomasochistic bond. When Perfidia becomes pregnant, Bob wants to stop with all the missions and embrace being a father, while Perfidia refuses to leave the excitement behind her. Meanwhile, Col. Lockjaw is constantly pursuing the couple, who at one point must flee into the night with their newborn in a laundry basket. This is just the set up.

Like Anderson’s “There Will Be Blood” (2007), here is a movie I admired more than I actually liked. There are great scenes, tremendous performances and a nod to risk-taking cinema of the 1970s but Anderson, rightly acknowledged as one of our best filmmakers, has made better films; “Hard Eight” (1996), “Punch-Drunk Love” (2002) and “The Master” (2012) remain my favorites.

Fearless performances from DiCaprio, Penn and especially Taylor elevate this overlong and self-indulgent work, which is often enthralling but, at 162 minutes, should have been tighter.

At best, “One Battle After Another” is exciting, darkly funny and unafraid of taking the story in directions akin to a mythic Western. The first act is perverse and off-putting, but the story transforms so fully by the second act that the characters and their struggles grew on me.

This is an Anderson specialty: Some will balk at rooting for characters who are, to put it nicely, ruthless outlaws, but this is the filmmaker who got us invested in a family unit of pornographers (“Boogie Nights”), members of a religious cult (“The Master”) and a vile cluster of L.A. degenerates (“Inherent Vice”). Movies have always allowed us to “root for the bad guy,” something Anderson seemingly tests by not judging his characters and allowing us to come to our own conclusions.

In addition to sharing a love for morally dubious characters, Anderson challenges us by showing us people who are hard to root for, then giving them layers and unexpected pathos.

Taylor was sensational in a little seen 2023 drama called “A Thousand and One” and her work here is equally unforgettable. Perfidia is a vivid creation that Taylor makes real. All the Oscar talk this movie is getting needs to start with her.

DiCaprio has wonderful scenes, and it’s humbling to see the former star of “The Basketball Diaries” (1995) now playing a proud dad. Penn’s work ranges from impressively ego-free to flamboyantly over the top (the cartoonish character name of Lockjaw meets the level of Penn’s decisions). I’m a lifelong fan of Penn but, as good as he is, there were times where you can see him acting with a capital A, which is probably not what he intended.

Jonny Greenwood’s score is sometimes wonderful and sometimes an ear sore (which is exactly what I thought of his music for “There Will Be Blood”). Anderson is obviously aiming for 1970s era filmmaking and patient storytelling. I can’t believe a film this bold, anti-mainstream, lavish and uncompromised was made at the studio level in 2025. The story matches the insanity of its characters and hits some wild notes, especially in the late going.

As for the loud, overwhelming hype that this is the year’s best picture, I’d say that this is a fine film but let’s not get crazy. We’ve got three months left and the onslaught of prestige films doesn’t end until January.

By the third act, it becomes redundant in its sequences of characters in an unending cycle of pursuit. Yet, just when I thought the film had finally exhausted me, along comes one of the best movie car chases in memory. It’s topped off with a conclusion that couldn’t be more satisfying.

(3 out of 4 stars)

Barry Wurst II is the founder of the Hawaii Film Critics Society and teaches film classes at University of Hawai’i Maui College.