“One Battle After Another” is makes great use of its runtime.

One of my biggest complaints about movies is how long some of them are. I brace myself when I see a movie that is well over two hours long. It usually means it's going to be bloated, and I will look for what could have been cut. It is rare for a long movie not to feel like a long movie: "One Battle After Another" is one of those.

Bob (Leonardo DiCaprio) was once a member of a revolutionary group called the French 76. When his girlfriend had a baby, he was caught by Col. Stephen J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn). He and his newborn daughter leave that life behind and drop off Lockjaw's radar. Sixteen years later, Lockjaw is back, and Bob must fight to save his family. 

It goes without saying that DiCaprio and Penn are incredible actors, and this movie does nothing to change that. For much of this movie, Bob is portrayed as a burnout doofus. He has spent years smoking and drinking, so by the time Lockjaw takes his daughter, he is not at his best. In one scene, he has to go through a series of code phrases to get some information, and can't remember the final phrase. He goes on a long rant at the man on the other end about how he has essentially fried his brain with drugs and is no longer good at the spy stuff. There is a lot of comedy in this movie, and most of it comes from DiCaprio. 

This movie is two hours and 41 minutes long, but doesn't feel like it. "One Battle After Another" is basically two movies. In the first hour or so, we see Bob and the rest of the French 76 in action. We are introduced to Lockjaw and his ethos. We see a bit of Bob and Perfidia's (Tayana Taylor, who gives an incredible performance) relationship and the birth of their child. The movie then flashes forward 16 years, showing Bob and his daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti), in their new life. Then, Lockjaw returns, and the movie kicks into high gear.

If you, like me, get exhausted by the thought of sitting down to watch a long movie, this is not one of those movies. Throughout its runtime, it rarely slows down, and when it does, it's only to establish the Willa/Bob dynamic. "One Battle After Another" is an absolute blast to watch and is in the running for the best movie of the year. 

9/10

Rated R for pervasive language, violence, sexual content, and drug use.

2h 41m