When you watch a Leonardo DiCaprio film, you know it's going to be serious (The Revenant, 2015) with strong social criticisms (Django Unchained, 2012) and often adapted from real people's lives (Killers of the Flower Moon, 2023) or prestigious novels (The Great Gatsby, 2013 or Revolutionary Road, 2008). Viewers will be surprised then to see Leo in a dark violent comedy called One Battle After Another.
When a group of revolutionary anarchists attack a government building in the American southwest, their plan hits a few snags. When one of these anarchists is cornered by law enforcement, the group of revolutionaries dissolves with most of its members forced into hiding. One Battle After Another is one half an intense thriller an one half a sarcastic political commentary.
The characters are not terribly inventive, and the narrative of determined grassroots aggressors clashing with obstinate military men is traditionally simple. We've all seen other films like this in Viva Zapata! (1952), V for Vendetta (2005), and The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008), haven't we? But the messages presented by this film are what make it perceptive, forceful, exciting, and current. Sixteen years after the revolutionaries disbanded, an obsessed United States Army colonel resurfaces to track them down with his murderous mission of justice. This colonel is played ferociously by Sean Penn (Milk, 2008) who combines patriotic devotion with petulant immpotence in a way only he can.
Sinking under the weight of past failure and betrayal, Leonardo DiCaprio shifts from a suave explosives expert to a frumpy, pot-head, burn-out trying to track down his kidnapped teenage daughter. Watching DiCaprio play such an unexpected role is fun. He's clumsy, tired, and stressed out, straining to get back into his past role of sneaky vigilante. Some of this bumbling comedy is great...and some isn't. (This film smartly pokes fun at both liberal "warriors" and the conservative "establishment".)
The frazzled single father is a little tired of a film trope (especially in comedy films). And what a surprise when Leo's character is made to look sympathetic when his daughter is targeted for abduction and murder forcing him to reach the ends of the earth and rescue her. That's too easy of a plot device to get the audience more engaged and raise the stakes higher. It feels like Missing (1982), Taken (2008) or Searching (2018).
One Battle After Another is easily not a flawless film for me. Some ideas and characters feel over-used or worn. But it has great parts and an even greater message about the immigration conflicts our country is presently facing. The tense sequences of Latinos evading capture from ICE agents, or Latinos being removed from U.S. detention centers, will strike a strong emotional chord with every viewer. It isn't difficult to compare some events in this film to the events happening in real life right now.
Overall, I like this one. But I don't love it. This film is a tribute to underground resistance and an indictment of our law enforcement. But more important than that, it poses challenging questions for its viewers.
