Review of “Battles Continue One After Another”

Paul Thomas Anderson’s film, Battles Continue One After Another, isn’t just a mediocre movie; it also crosses moral boundaries by inciting violence against white Christians.

As expected, the increasingly irrelevant Academy Awards had a rough time at the box office on Sunday night, securing six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor.

In my October review, I pointed out that Battles Continue One After Another feels like a reverse take on D.W. Griffith’s 1915 film, Birth of a Nation.

This film serves as a real eye-opener. It features an abundance of black female leadership and often portrays white men—especially fathers—as inept or downright malicious. The cast of antagonists, all white, strikingly represents current opponents like ICE. Meanwhile, the protagonists are depicted as militant, left-wing, Antifa-like revolutionaries.

Typically, movies conclude by revealing their central messages. You can always factor in the theme of fight within that group.

While watching the excessively long fight, I found myself hoping for a redeeming moment that would justify the simplistic view of the white male character (Leonardo DiCaprio), who believes family should take precedence over divisive politics—especially those involving violence.

That moment never came.

Instead, the film seemingly endorses Antifa. DiCaprio’s character’s daughter chooses to flee her home and join the film’s representation of Antifa, while her naive father remains behind, fumbling with iPhones and carrying a bewildered expression. To top it off, the movie closes with Tom Petty’s classic “American Girl.”

This film portrays all white characters as either villainous or foolish, while non-white characters are depicted as noble, courageous, and redemptive.

I usually manage to take things in stride and don’t get too worked up about the portrayals of bumbling dads and unlikable white characters in comedies. However, fight stands out in a troubling way. The film makes no qualms about targeting individuals like me and others who identify as white.

Fight is fundamentally a troubling film that seems to justify aggressive behavior against a group of people who struggle with the aftermath of losing an election.

Once again, I must emphasize this is not a very good film. There’s little to recommend it beyond what you might find in something like Sinners!