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September 12, 2026Short & citedBlog
Civic Viewpoint.
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Kept by Bryan McAllister — short guides, clear facts, and the Canadian angle when it matters.
Screen & Stage • Film

One Battle After Another

One Battle After Another is a 2025 American action-comedy-thriller film written, directed, and produced by Paul Thomas Anderson.

Updated September 12, 20261 min readCited sources

One Battle After Another is a 2025 American action-comedy-thriller directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, loosely based on Thomas Pynchon's novel Vineland.

What it is

The film follows a washed-up former revolutionary living off-grid who is pulled back into danger when an old enemy resurfaces and his daughter goes missing. It reinterprets themes from Pynchon's 1990 novel but sets the story in a different era.

Key details

Written, directed, and produced by Paul Thomas Anderson, the film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, and Chase Infiniti in her debut. It blends action, comedy, and thriller elements, with some reviews calling it a dark comedy-thriller or political satire.

Release and reception

Released in 2025, the film has a theatrical release date of September 26, 2025, per Rotten Tomatoes. It reflects themes of political unrest and activism relevant to Canadian audiences.

In short

  • Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, based on Vineland by Thomas Pynchon.
  • Stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a former revolutionary whose daughter goes missing.
  • Genre is action-comedy-thriller, with dark comedy and political satire elements.
  • Released in 2025; theatrical date September 26, 2025.
Canadian angle

Canadian readers may recognize Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio as major international film figures; the movie also reflects themes of political unrest and activism that have broad cultural relevance in Canada.

Quick questions

What is One Battle After Another about?
It follows a washed-up former revolutionary who is drawn back into conflict when his enemy resurfaces and his daughter goes missing.
Who directed One Battle After Another?
Paul Thomas Anderson directed the film.
When is One Battle After Another coming out?
The film was released in 2025; Rotten Tomatoes lists its theatrical release date as September 26, 2025.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Battle_After_Another
    Supports: Basic film identification, year, director, cast, source novel, and plot premise.
  2. Britannica — https://www.britannica.com/topic/One-Battle-After-Another
    Supports: Director, source novel, plot adaptation details, setting differences, and genre/tone descriptions.
  3. IMDb — https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30144839/plotsummary/
    Supports: Plot summary about ex-revolutionaries reuniting after an enemy resurfaces.
  4. Rotten Tomatoes — https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/one_battle_after_another
    Supports: Release date, genre labels, rating, and synopsis.