'One Battle After Another' wins best film at the BAFTAs

“One Battle After Another”, the action-packed dark comedy directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, won the coveted best film award from Britain’s BAFTA on Sunday.

Paul Thomas Anderson directorial based on Thomas Pynchon’s mystical novel, this film takes a swing for the fences with its scathing critique of America’s divided political system. Unfortunately, it falters with a lack of cohesion and a running time that feels more like a marathon. Hold on to your seat for a wild, unbalanced ride!

One Battle After Another Film Review: DiCaprio Dominates a Frantic, Overlong Political Satire

Leonardo DiCaprio is the pistoning heart of this crazy story, giving a performance that’s half-hilarious and half-electrifying. His timing and boundless energy render him the ultimate scene-stealer, pulling the film through its shakier bits. The film’s subject matter—political polarization, societal farce, and the pointlessness of ideological struggles—resonates in our polarized America today. It’s a funhouse mirror held up against the craziness of our era, and when it hits, it cuts with laser-sharp precision.

At 162 minutes, One Battle After Another drags itself like it’s struggling to remain coherent. The script, weighed down by Pynchon’s thick source material, too often wanders through scenes that lead nowhere quickly. The second act, specifically, is a slog—characters walk pointlessly through the city, and the narrative idles like a gas-less car.

Tighter cuts could have trimmed at least 30 minutes without sacrificing the soul of the film. The character development also remains sparse, leaving most actors to feel like caricatures instead of fully fleshed-out individuals.