‘One Battle After Another’ Is Irredeemable

The Free Press ^ | 13 Mar 2026 | Liel Leibovitz

[Rummyfan]

The movie is just another sign that Hollywood has once again driven itself to total moral, artistic, and creative ruin.

What would I do if I were one of America’s greatest film directors?

The thought occurred to me sometimes as I was dawdling through film school, admiring the work of men and women whose talent I knew I lacked. With little hope of ever joining the pantheon myself, I daydreamed about what it must be like to be, say, Paul Thomas Anderson.

Suppose I were him? Having delivered three of the finest cinematic masterpieces in recent history—Boogie Nights (1997), Magnolia (1999), and There Will Be Blood (2007)—to be later followed up with a handful of looser and more intimate works like Licorice Pizza (2021), what would I do for an encore?

In my hazier moments, I began to hatch out a fantasy. A genius of Anderson’s magnitude, I reasoned, is surely looking around him and feeling nothing but revulsion for what has become of Hollywood. An industry that now mandates diversity and inclusion standards in order to be considered for its highest honor—better find some way to work a host of BIPOC actors into that Leif Eriksson biopic you’re working on, bub—is no place for anyone committed to art for art’s sake. What’s a true auteur to do to state his or her disdain for the petty politruks ravaging popular entertainment?

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TOPICS: Miscellaneous; Society; TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: champagnesocialists; hollywood; hollywoodhalfwits; hollywoodhypocrites; limousineliberals; movies; oscars

[Rummyfan]

I saw it and honestly I didn't know what to make of it. Is it well-made? Yes. The performances are generally all great too. But to what purpose? There isn't much of a plot and the white men are almost all irredeemably bad.

FWIW it's nominated for a bunch of Oscars ....

[Rummyfan]

....now that even Paul Thomas Anderson seems interested more in purring for his fellow progressives than in making interesting movies, now that even DiCaprio is relegated to delivering lines about respecting another character’s “they/them” gender pronouns, it should be crystal clear that Hollywood has once again driven itself to total moral, artistic, and creative ruin. How lucky are we: Somewhere out there, I bet, some young punk feels liberated and called to make Hollywood great again.

Another Coppola? Another Scorsese? It's sure as heck not Maggie Gyllenhall with her atrocious The Bride!

[montag813]

I stopped reading when he called Boogie Nights and Magnolia “masterpieces.”

[fruser1]

What’s a true auteur to do

I think in East Germany, they were pretty much stuck w/a gray and brown palette, so you're pretty much screwed.

[Magnum44]

Thanks for saving me the time.

[Rummyfan]

You know, I think Magnolia is a masterpiece.

[jerod]

Licorice Pizza is actually a pretty good movie. There will be Blood is another pretty good film too.

[Rastus]

Punch Drunk Love is good.

[BradyLS]

I’ve not seen the movie but I did read the plot summary. Told from the POV of the Rebels, I find them so unsympathetic that I’m rooting for the Empire.

[sphinx]

I’ve not seen it. Most of what I’ve read suggests that I’d spend most of the runtime arguing with the plot.

That said, I might eventually watch it in the spirit of opposition research. I do try to be careful about not dumping on a film unless I’ve watched it.

Oftentimes movies live down to my expectations. But several times I’ve been seriously surprised.

If OBAA wins a lot of Oscars, I may force myself to watch just to have standing to kvetch about it.

[Rummyfan]

I think they are going to give most of the awards to Sinners. I have not seen it but friends described it as a black remake of From Dusk Til Dawn, which itself was a reimagining and combination of every vampire flick ever made, with an R rating.

[AnotherUnixGeek]

I saw "One Battle After Another" in the theater without realizing it was a PTA film until afterward. I was bored - a lot of left-wing tropes, which is acceptable if the movie is good, and this wasn't.

"There Will Be Blood" will most likely remain PTA's best work - like all of his movies, it's too long, but unlike the rest of his movies you don't even realize how long it was because you're so engrossed in Daniel Day-Lewis' performance.

[Calvin Cooledge]

Magnolia, Boogie Nights, and There Will Be Blood are all anti-human crap.

[MPJackal]

Saw it. Hated it. Time I’ll never get back.

[9422WMR]

“ Saw it. Hated it. Time I’ll never get back.”
I stop watching it after 5 minutes. The actors were terrible and the plot? Unwatchable.