The latest film from Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another, has debuted to rave reviews.
The action thriller, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, has been receiving near-universal acclaim, so much so that it's the year's highest-rated movie on Metacritic with a near-perfect score of 96.
DiCaprio plays a former revolutionary named Bob, whose daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti) goes missing after an old enemy (Sean Penn) resurfaces.
31 out of 33 of the reviews on Metacritic so far are rated as positive, and on Rotten Tomatoes, the movie stands at a stellar 97% from 69 reviews. Our own five-star One Battle After Another review verdict reads: "Working with the kind of budget typically reserved for superhero tentpoles, Paul Thomas Anderson's bravura comic satire is a serious film of the year contender, and one of the best studio movies in years. An instant classic."
Most of the other reviews are similarly glowing. "In years to come, when this appears on TV late at night, it’ll be impossible to switch off. It's just one of those films," reads Empire's five-star review.
"This is another slam-dunk for Anderson, who has made a film that is a very rare beast indeed: one that is incredibly fun without ever once straining to be. And if you’re reading these words, it's your god-given duty to go see this in a cinema on the biggest, loudest screen you're able to access," says Little White Lies' review.
"Anderson has executed an unbelievably rare feat: a big-budget studio action film that maintains his specific tone and style, with a film that feels essential to our troubled modern times," reads Collider's review.
However, not everyone is convinced. TheWrap's review reads: "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."
One Battle After Another arrives in theaters this September 26, with previews from September 24. You can fill out your watchlist with our guide to the most exciting upcoming movies of the year.
