Leonardo DiCaprio is back on screen in One Battle After Another, a film that has been two decades in the making.
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, the movie unites DiCaprio with Hollywood heavyweights Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn, alongside Teyana Taylor and Regina Hall, in what promises to be part political satire, part black comedy, and part action blockbuster.
DiCaprio stars as Bob, a dishevelled ex-revolutionary who seems destined to grow even more ragged as the story unfolds. At one point, he is seen panicking through the streets in his dressing gown, whining about having nowhere to charge his phone. Bob belongs to a heavily armed activist cell that stages attacks on migrant holding prisons along the Mexican border.
His humble role in the group is to set off fireworks as a diversionary-slash-celebratory tactic, a far cry from the hardened figures around him, such as the fearless Deandra (Regina Hall) and cerebral Howard, played in a cameo by composer and Yale academic Paul Grimstad.
The film’s narrative is driven by Bob’s past and present colliding when his daughter goes missing, forcing him to reunite with his old comrades and confront an old nemesis. For all its high stakes, the story is as much about human frailty and flawed choices as it is about political extremism and armed resistance.
Anderson conceived the idea for the project more than 20 years ago, drawing loose inspiration from Thomas Pynchon’s cult 1990 novel Vineland. The director describes it as one of his most ambitious works, weaving together politics, personal redemption, and the absurdities of human behaviour.
For DiCaprio, the role feels timely. He said the film “holds a mirror up to society and talks about the divisiveness in our culture and the fact that there’s so much polarity.”
While he doesn’t see a single overriding message in the film, he described an “interesting undercurrent about extremism” that resonates with today’s world.
Benicio del Toro, who plays Sergio, a martial arts instructor who comes to Bob’s aid, said the project is both socially relevant and thoroughly entertaining. “It says something about its time,” del Toro noted. “But it’s also fun, has a lot of heart, and lets audiences connect with the characters.” The actor admitted that his biggest thrill was finally working alongside DiCaprio. “Leo and I are from the same class if Hollywood was a university. I’ve met him many times, but this is the first chance we’ve had to actually collaborate.”
For all its political undertones, One Battle After Another is character-driven. DiCaprio portrays Bob as “a flawed protagonist” who embodies human contradictions. “You can relate to his struggles, even when he does everything wrong. He’s the complete opposite of Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible hero, Bob never lands a stunt cleanly, and that’s what makes him compelling.”
The film, which blends dark humour with explosive set pieces, is expected to ignite conversations as much as it entertains. It reflects Anderson’s signature ability to craft stories that are both epic in scope and intimate in their portrayal of human vulnerability.
With a cast brimming with Oscar winners and seasoned performers, One Battle After Another has already been described as one of 2025’s most anticipated releases.
For audiences, it is not just a new DiCaprio film but the arrival of a project that has simmered for two decades and now, finally, takes centre stage.
The film opens on 25 September in Australia, and on 26 September in the UK and US.
