You haven’t lived until you’ve experienced a new film from writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson. From Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and There Will Be Blood, he remains a filmmaker true cinephiles can fall for, with any project he’s attached to, even almost 30 years later. But longtime fans have been clamoring for his next film after four years, and it comes in the form of One Battle After Another. PTA hits a milestone in his career, as one of my anticipated films of the year is his tenth film. It was a tall order when you not only have Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead, but he’s working with his largest budget to date at over $100 million for Warner Bros. Believe it or not, the only hesitation I had going in was remembering that this is the second time Anderson has loosely inspired by a story from author Thomas Pynchon. In this case, this is based on his 1990 novel, Vineland. Which did worry me, considering I’m one of the handful of people who disliked Inherent Vice. However, One Battle After Another is a positive departure from the previous adaptation, offering an unexpected, thrilling blockbuster from one of our generation’s most influential amateurs.

What’s the Story: Radical revolutionary group, the French 75, with their latest mission was a raid freeing immigrants from the Ota Mesa Detention Center on the U.S.-Mexico border, as Col. Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn) is caught. Explosive expert “Ghetto” Pat Calhoun (DiCaprio) falls in love with fellow activist Perfidia Beverly Hills (Teyana Taylor), becoming pregnant with their daughter, Charlene. However, she continues to fight for her causes, with Lockjaw catching up to her. Causing them to relocate and assume new lives for their safety. Sixteen years later, Pat, under the name Bob Ferguson, is raising his teenage daughter, now named Willa (Chase Infiniti), living off the grid in the sanctuary city of Batkan Cross. Though all these years later, Lockjaw and his team have hunted down the remaining revolutionaries, Bob must stay alive to find Willa before she’s put in harm’s way.

Do you always know what to expect when walking into one of his films? Not always, and that’s why everything he’s done felt so different even when a certain director influences him. But Anderson, known for his unique style, pulled out all the stops to make One Battle After Another his biggest in scope that we haven’t seen before. This departure from his usual style is what makes this film stand out. This is what Inherent Vice should’ve been, as this had the flair of The Big Lebowski and the tense nature of something like Uncut Gems. It’s also quite refreshing for him to have a story set in a contemporary setting, as opposed to one that takes place in the past. Yet, it fits right into the classic conspiracy thrillers of the ’70s, which simultaneously feel old-school in their own special way. Once we know what Bob has to do, it’s a race against time that never gets tired.

You can view this as a reasonably straightforward story centered on the father-daughter relationship and the generation gap between them, but Anderson’s screenplay doesn’t shy away from feeling timely in its message within our current political climate. The film’s exploration of the consequences of revolutionary actions and the challenges they pose encourages us to reflect on our own actions and their potential impact on ourselves and our loved ones. In the film’s case, Bob kept this side of his past life quiet from his daughter to ensure she didn’t have to deal with some kind of trauma.

Of course, how often do we get a performance from Leonardo DiCaprio that’s less than stellar? Bob’s a character PTA created that’s flawed in all the right corners, but you desperately want him to succeed. I kept forgetting how underrated he can be when utilizing his comedic chops. As he spends his days getting high and drunk, he is now put into this situation where Bob has to step back into a world he thought he was completely done with. The fact that he’s always stoned and realistically paranoid about what’s around him adds to the mission to save his daughter, which is all too insane for him to handle. Just seeing Bob being out of the revolutionary world, especially when forgetting passwords and codewords to get a simple answer over the phone, brought out some of the funniest moments One Battle After Another offers that I wasn’t prepared to laugh at. The gag itself was clearly giving off Punch-Drunk Love vibes in how it always all played out.

But we all know DiCaprio will deliver a performance with 110% commitment; yet, chances are you’ll walk out thinking about Chase Infiniti. What an incredible debut film performance to showcase as an independent teen who knows what she’s doing until she eventually learns the truth about her parents. It’s remarkable to know Infiniti was raised in Indianapolis, which I discovered about a month ago. Honestly, it’s great seeing Indy natives make it in Hollywood. Additionally, her family was actually in attendance at our early screening, which the audience applauded when she first appeared on-screen and when her name was announced in the credits. True story. I just found out from my mom that her father was a part of my parents’ wedding. What a world to be strangely connected to a huge breakout star.

Everyone else in the ensemble doesn’t disappoint, even if they don’t have a lot of screen time, from Benicio del Toro as Sensei Sergio, Regina Hall expanding her range as Deandra, and Taylor’s Perfidia making an impression in the first act that has her making bad decisions left and right. As someone who can’t stand Sean Penn in real life, the two-time Oscar winner might’ve had his most memorable role in years as Steven J. Lockjaw. This is such a dirty character who perfectly embodies someone creepily menacing to himself, while also having a thing for black girls, particularly Perfindia, and is willing to do whatever when he’s considering joining this white nationalist organization called the Christmas Adventurers Club.

Technically speaking, I ate it all up. Seeing a Paul Thomas Anderson movie in 70 mm/VistaVision IMAX was a worthy choice, as Indianapolis has one of the largest screens in the country. You can be sure it was nearly packed, and everyone was fully engaged. But this brought out some of the best cinematography work in the year from Michael Bauman. It also has the most action of anything he’s done, and while it’s not as bombastic as you would expect, it still has that impact of an explosion or car chase on an empty highway. And his go-to collaborator, Jonny Greenwood, brings together another fantastic score that maintains momentum for a substantial portion of the runtime without faltering. There are also two specific needle drops I simply applauded in my head.

In PTA fashion, it’s a long film, whether we like it or not, clocking in at 162 minutes, and the second longest after Magnolia. Around the second act, it probably started to feel a tad slow, but the energy throughout, courtesy of editor Andy Jergensen, kept me engaged without inducing a sense of boredom.

For a director like Anderson to take on a big-budget studio film that fits his style, it’s truly astonishing how he managed to pull it off. There’s the fear that this won’t make a massive impression at the box office based on the cost alone, but it’s the kind of adult drama that has to be seen on the big screen, especially in IMAX. And you know it’s great when I was already eager to see it again midway through.

One Battle After Another marks another memorable classic for Paul Thomas Anderson. Captivating, while easing his audience through his humor and investment of its characters, his latest won’t be forgotten anytime soon. Fans of his won’t be disappointed by one I wanted to see again immediately. Between this and Sinners, could it be the second year in a row where a Warner Bros. film is my favorite film of the year? We shall see what the rest of the fall has to offer.

Grade: A-