One Battle After Another

I was incredibly lucky to get to see this the way it was intended - in glorious VistaVision. The way this screening was treated was honestly really cool. The clear love for films by (most) of the audience, they had an organ come out and play before the film and had an employee come out and introduce the film and lamented about how special VistaVision was. It just made the whole experience feel special.

The film itself, prior to opening night even, had managed to garner such critical acclaim and appraisal, that it did beg the question whether or not this was going to live up to the already incredibly high bar which was set. Safe to say, this film does. I'd go as far to say I'm flirting with the word masterpiece.

This film manages to transcend the idea of film and brings us something that is both culturally relevant and timely, in the way it speaks to the collision course the western world is on, and the political divisions and the atrocities which are being committed in the name of politics, and seamlessly blends this with an entertaining, funny, action packed blockbuster.

PTA's strengths are on full display here, but at the same time this feels completely unique amongst his filmography. It stands out, but in a good way. He is fusing elements of cinema which, as of late seem to have diverged. The film is at the same time both pulpy and fun, fulling leaning into the action blockbuster, packing it to the brim with comedy, but it's also very thought provoking, and auteur like. It feels like a film which harkens back to blockbusters of old.

It feels like this in a multitude of ways. In how characters are written so complexly and are so well rounded that the comedy arises from knowing who these people are and the situations they get themselves into. In the narrative being relatively simple and letting that simple story lend itself to allowing room for depth. Nothing makes this feel more like a film of a bygone era more so than how this film looks and is shot.

Sure, the VistaVision and the commitment to shooting on a film is an aspect of this, but also just in how practically this film goes about filming certain scenes. Having action scenes feel tactile and real, choosing actual locations to shoot in rather than relying on visual effects does so much for how visceral these scenes get.

You feel so deeply in these scenes because of how well crafted the characters are. You care for them and the danger they find themselves in. Much like every other PTA project, he writes his characters with such care, and such depth that these feel like complete realised humans who's story he is showcasing. What really impresses me is how PTA is able to do this in montage as well. Having just binged most of his filmography it seems to be a device he employs quite a bit, and I love that he does cause he's so effective at it.

Montage might be the wrong word; it's honestly something which feels uniquely him. We have these large sweeping sequences where rarely a word is said, and we bounce about multiple scenes are places. Much like the opening of this film, which is a perfect primer for where the story goes. It's great setup but also provides insights into characters so succinctly and smartly. Like perhaps what initially motivated Bob's character to join the revolution. A great indicator of how effective this is, is that Teyanna Taylor's character only really appears in this montage and yet you feel her presence has been gone when she leaves the film.

Once we have set up the story, the film flies by. It's exceptionally well paced, thanks to some truly magnificent editing. They say that good editing and a good score should be unnoticeable, and I really disagree with that, both aspects of this film are so apparent and so incredible. Johnny Greenwood continues to prove why he is one of the best composers working today, his really odd often whimsical score here captures and fits the tone so perfectly. It also is in part what helps make the movie feel so tense.

For most of the runtime, this isa nonstop chase and you feel that tension consistently persist throughout the film. You get no real relief from this tension, bar some comedy but even then, that seems to add to the tension. I think it could be very easy to slip into overwhelming the audience but there is such a control over the tension here, the movie is so fast paced but it also allows room for it to breath and for characters to be explored in depth as well.

The relevancy and exploration of timely themes in this film is nothing short of wonderful. For this to resonant as much as it does, and to have been made before a lot of American politics descended into what it is now, shows how much PTA has an eye for social relevance. I loved the portrayal of white supremacy here, something which has been explored a lot in cinema. Often these characters dip into extremes, into perhaps people who are easily removed from the modern world, but here it is confronting, it is making you question who is really orchestrating the conflict in Western countries. There's something so scary here about the main opposing force of this film being men in golf jumpers. People you probably have interacted with. I do think it's no surprise how on the nose PTA was with this film, take a look at history and you will see this kind of stuff repeats itself. Something the film is all too aware off - see title of movie. It's just wild how accurate it feels to the world right now.

He's just so good at writing, down to the little implicit details of characters. Leo's Bob, who on the surface could be just a funny stoner, but underneath there's so much to question about where's he's ended up and why, the reasons somebody might lean into conservatism after they've had a kid. The reasons he got into the revolution in the first place and those reasons changing as he grows older. I found him, like the movie, so utterly fascinating but so funny as well.

I finally just want to say, the more I've sat on it, the more I think the final chase sequence is perhaps one of the greatest action scenes put to film. It's so simple. It's doing so much at the same time. The tension built up at that point, the care for the characters, it's just genius. I gasped; I was on the edge of my seat. The whole sequence being a metaphor for the entire film is ingenious. Literally just having a few cars chase each other, with no outlandish parts, and yet to craft that much tension out of it, just unreal.

Not a bad thing to say about this, every department was incredible, the performances across the board are wonderful, shoutout Chase Infiniti - you have the coolest name