Leonardo DiCaprio's new film One Battle After Another is receiving rave reviews after its first screening.
The movie stars DiCaprio as Bob Ferguson, a former revolutionary who reunites with his old group of rebels to rescue his daughter.
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, the thriller is based on the 1990 novel Vineland by Thomas Pynchon.
The film had its LA premiere on Monday (8 September), followed by a Q&A with Anderson at the Director’s Guild of America theater moderated by the legendary Steven Spielberg.
Spielberg himself led the praise for the film, calling it "an insane movie."
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The director added (via Film Stage): "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."
On X critics shared their first reactions to the film, with it being almost universally praised and DiCaprio's performance lauded alongside his co-star Sean Penn.
Film critic Brett Arnold wrote on X: "I laughed out loud throughout, it’s probably Anderson’s funniest movie, and by the end I was so deeply moved I was crying. Sean Penn will win an incredibly well-deserved Oscar. And the action! My god. I haven’t stopped thinking about the car chase and what the camera does."
Variety's Jazz Tangcay called it "phenomenal" and "filled oh such fantastic performances", suggesting it was a "solid" Oscar Best Picture contender.
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NY Times writer Kyle Buchanan also said the film was an early Oscar contender, writing that it "could be nominated across the board" and "finally nab" Anderson a top statuette.
Slash Film editor Chris Evangelista shared: "The modern American nightmare in VistaVision, One Battle After Another finds PTA capturing our current hellish landscape in a darkly funny film loaded with thrilling car chases, deafening shootouts, and absurdism. Shocking but familiar images abound. One of the best of the year!"
"Look I’m aware I’m not unbiased," Variety's Jenelle Riley wrote. "But One Battle After Another earns the MWord - a total Masterpiece. Can’t remember the last time my most anticipated film of the year was also the best."
Critic Courtney Howard said: "A riveting masterclass handling absurdity, satire & suspense. DiCaprio is in top form. Teyana Taylor is a standout. Chase Infiniti is a revelation. She steals the show. Jonny Greenwood’s score hits like no other."
IndieWire's David Ehrlich added: "One Battle After Another might be the best movie released by a major American studio since I started working as a critic (~2010). distressing how little else comes to mind!"
One Battle After Another will be released in cinemas on 26 September.
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Stephanie is a freelance news writer, who previously covered WWE and AEW for Digital Spy.
After graduating with a degree in history from Queen Mary University, London, she studied journalism at Birkbeck University.
Outside of her work at Digital Spy, she writes about pop culture, with a special focus towards Irish media and how it intersects with politics.
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