It looks like reports of Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” being a serious awards contender this year are correct.
Reviews officially began arriving this morning and now, with 65 reviews counted, the title sits at a very solid 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, and a much more astonishing 96/100 on Metacritic from 33 reviews.
That Metacritic score is the highest of Anderson’s career so far, higher than the 93/100 for “There Will Be Blood,” the 90 both “Phantom Thread” and “Licorice Pizza” earned, and the 86 both “Boogie Nights” and “The Master” landed.
In other words, it’s a must see. Here’s a sampling of review quotes:
“Fierce and unrelenting, it burns as both an incendiary action epic and a tender family drama, alive with humor, conviction, and revolutionary spirit… Few films this year feel so vital, so breathtaking in scope and soul.” – Rodrigo Perez, The Playlist
“One Battle After Another might be among the sillier films that Anderson has ever made, but there’s no mistaking the sincerity of its horrors, or how lucidly it diagnoses the smallness of the men inflecting them upon the innocent and the vulnerable.” – David Ehrlich, Indiewire
“At once serious and unserious, exciting and baffling, a tonal fusion sending that crazy fizz across the VistaVision screen – an acquired taste, yes, but addictive. The title itself hints at an unending culture war presented as a crazily extreme action movie… Is the central paternity crisis triangle an image for an ownership dispute around the American melting-pot dream?” – Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
“DiCaprio is so terrific, and Infiniti such a charismatic find, that viewers may find themselves wishing the cast, both principal and supporting (which also includes Regina Hall and Alana Haim), had room in this 162-minute movie to bounce off of each other with a little more frequency.” – Jesse Hassenger, The AV Club
“While it speaks with a big vision to the danger and anxiety of our moment, it’s also a drama that’s totally grounded and relatable. There’s a thematic heft to it, and the movie is often quite funny in a sidelong way, but it’s not some in-your-face didactic absurdist thing.” – Owen Gleiberman, Variety
“The film’s primary feelings are anger and paranoia. As we watch this depiction of a life lived looking over your shoulder, we recognise these as the most commonly, deeply felt feelings of our age.” – Lou Thomas, Time Out
“I’m not sure if it’s Anderson’s masterpiece, and though Penn is funny in the role of the crazed colonel, he frequently veers towards cartoonish and almost ruins his scenes. Still, it’s an easy best picture Oscar nomination in the bag” – Kevin Maher, The Times
“It’s possible, maybe even likely, that Paul Thomas Anderson has stuffed so much into one movie that a lot of people will find something to take away from it. All I see is the lack of focus.” – William Bibbiani, The Wrap
Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio del Toro, Sean Penn, Teyana Taylor, Regina Hall, Chase Infiniti and Alana Haim co-star in “One Battle After Another” which opens in cinemas next Friday.
