One Battle After Another, the new movie from Paul Thomas Anderson was shocking. It is based on the concept of Bob Ferguson’s (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) Kid being kidnapped and him trying to find her. The idea of kidnapped children in movies being rescued by their parents is nothing new (Taken, The Searchers), but One Battle After Another flips that concept on its head, with a take on the idea I had never seen before while making some great points about the current culture of the world.    

The movie is centered on the adventures of Bob Ferguson, a member of the French 75, which is loosely based on the Weather Underground, a group of revolutionaries who all attended the University of Michigan in the 1970s, as he attempts to find his daughter. The movie highlights the difference between the world’s views of the government and the possibility of freedom and how that view has changed in 16 years. A big example of this is the way the movie shows the difference between the French 75 then and the remaining members now. It shows how much more advanced the enemy has become, and how much smaller the French 75 has become.  

 Another thing about this movie I liked was its take on fatherhood. I thought it was very wholesome. Bob spends the entire movie feeling like a loser because the French 75 fell apart, but the movie fundamentally disagrees with him and shows him that he succeeded in raising such a strong daughter. I thought this was very important and a good message.  

It is worth mentioning that, despite receiving great reviews, the movie struggled to break even, which I attribute to the movie being two hours and 45 minutes. I think the length should be ignored by people who want to see this movie but are turned off by the box office and for people who are not going to see it because of the length, please know that the movie flies by and you won’t even notice it. 

I thought the way the film tackled the difference in the culture of America over 16 years was very interesting and gave it just the push to make it something that will be talked about for a while. 

I would give it a 4.5/5