Director Paul Thomas Anderson is running around town with his latest film, One Battle After Another, just before its theatrical release. The first verdict of the press is in, and it seems that the action thriller is a home run by all standards. Starring heavy hitters like Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio Del Toro, Sean Penn, Chase Infiniti and Teyana Taylor, the film has received some valuable praise from some big names, which will no doubt help the ticket sales come release day.
The first and probably the most important compliment the film received was from Jaws director Steven Spielberg. He sat down with Paul during a Q & A session hosted by the Director’s Guild of America Theatre, and according to The Film Stage, he said, “What an insane movie. There is more action in the first hour of this than every other film you’ve ever directed put together. Everything; it is really incredible. This is such a concoction of things that are so bizarre and at the same time so relevant that I think they have become increasingly more relevant than perhaps even when you finished the screenplay and assembled your cast and crew and began production.”
Spielberg added, “I have not seen a movie that is so tonally related to Stanley Kubrick’s Dr Strangelove. This brings a kind of absurdist comedy, taken very seriously, because it’s so much a reflection of what’s happening today, every day, throughout this country. But it takes it to a point where you want to laugh, because if you don’t laugh, you’re going to start screaming, ‘This is too real.’ And so you got that outlet… More than nervously, I had a great time laughing all the way through this. But it’s interesting where you laugh here, where you allow us to laugh, and then when you shut it down.”
The initial reactions from the press are also quite positive. Men’s Health writer Evan Romano said, “My number one film of the year.” Film critic and podcast host Bryan Sudfield said, “One Battle After Another is an uproarious, masterfully orchestrated descent into contemporary chaos, with PTA (Paul) balancing absurdist flair and visceral thrills. DiCaprio is in peak form, while Chase Infiniti delivers a revelatory, star-making turn. Experience on the biggest screen!” Another user on X called the film “A gargantuan, powerful, crowd-pleasing swing with a visionary idiosyncratic voice, brilliantly blending action, adventure, comedy & drama while pushing the boundaries of blockbuster filmmaking into a new era.”
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER is an uproarious, masterfully orchestrated descent into contemporary chaos, with PTA balancing absurdist flair and visceral thrills. DiCaprio is in peak form, while Chase Infiniti delivers a revelatory, star-making turn. Experience on the biggest screen! pic.twitter.com/fjuA2y73xx
— Bryan Sudfield @ #TIFF50 (@BryanSudfield) September 9, 2025
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER is PTA at his most ambitious, bold, and urgent. A gargantuan, powerful, crowd-pleasing swing with a visionary idiosyncratic voice, brilliantly blending action, adventure, comedy & drama while pushing the boundaries of blockbuster filmmaking into a new era pic.twitter.com/lsvKWyTu6h
— Diego Andaluz (@thediegoandaluz) September 9, 2025
One Battle After Another will be releasing on September 26.
