How woke is One Battle After Another?

Paul Thomas Anderson's "One Battle After Another" (2025) is a black comedy action-thriller that reunites ex-revolutionaries after 16 years when a corrupt military officer, tied to white supremacist networks, targets them and their loved ones. The plot kicks off with a far-left group's attempt to free detained immigrants, sparking obsession from the antagonist, Colonel Lockjaw (Sean Penn), and evolves into chases, betrayals, and family revelations amid militia clashes and sanctuary city skirmishes.¹² While delivering awe-inspiring action set pieces and screwball energy in VistaVision, the film weaves in pointed critiques of authoritarianism, militarized immigration enforcement, and racial purity cabals, framing revolutionaries—many from marginalized backgrounds—as sympathetic resisters against a racist power structure.³

Progressive political messaging permeates the narrative, portraying primary conflicts around racism, undocumented communities, and right-wing extremism, with underground white men erasing history to preserve dominance—a timely jab at culture wars over education and museums. Identity politics surface through interracial relationships, generational activism shifts, and Black women's survival tactics, including postpartum struggles and weaponized sexuality, though some view this as fetishistic or stereotypical.¹⁶ The diverse ensemble underscores inclusion: Leonardo DiCaprio as a washed-up white revolutionary dad, Teyana Taylor and Regina Hall as fierce Black female militants, Benicio del Toro as a Latino sensei, and supporting Indigenous and Black roles, de-centering white male saviors in favor of communal, multicultural heroism.⁵

Critics hail it as Anderson's most entertaining outing, blending Pynchon-inspired paranoia with propulsive thrills and Jonny Greenwood's score, earning 94% on Rotten Tomatoes and DGA/Oscar buzz without feeling polemical—messaging embeds in character-driven chaos rather than halting the story.⁴³ Yet detractors decry it as left-wing propaganda, simplifying America as a fascist police state with cartoonish white supremacist villains and virtuous people of color, prioritizing social justice dogma over nuance and fueling identity-driven divides.⁵ Racial politics draw fire for messiness, like psychosexual Black female portrayals and ahistorical radicalism, positioning it as post-woke liberal fantasy baiting Nazis for broad appeal.⁷⁶

Anderson's auteur track record favors complex humans over agendas, and here storytelling triumphs—father-daughter bonds and epic pursuits overshadow preachiness—but the film's social justice core, timely anti-right satire, and diverse heroism elevate woke content to substantial levels without fully eclipsing its cinematic verve.