And Hollywood wonders why this was a box office disappointment?
There have been reams of pages utilizing "One Battle After Another" as an illustration of a failure of the audience, that people just won't come out to see a great movie. Having now watched it on HBO...
I was hipped by Harold that it was a disappointment. He went to see it in the theatre. Something I choose not to do. Not only do I find the experience passé, how do you expect me to sit for two hours and forty two minutes without getting up to pee? If you want to make a series, do so, but don't give us these lengthy, extended films that are a chore to watch in one sitting.
Now I've recently thought that Leonardo DiCaprio was overrated. However he was good here. But Sean Penn? He's the new Meryl Streep, you can see the preparation, you can see the acting, the ultimate result being that the portrayal just doesn't ring true. The walk? Both bow-legged and stiff? Maybe if you're in your twenties... I mean he's signaling the rigidity of the character, but it ends up making viewers wince...this is why people decry Penn, he takes himself so seriously. I loved Willa's put-down of him, about the tight shirt and the lifts in his shoes, but it's hard not to square that with the real Penn.
But Benicio del Toro has never been better. Confident yet understated.
The acting in all was pretty good. But the plotting?
I didn't read Pynchon's "Vineland," although online research tells me the film is not faithful to the book. But the first issue the flick has is TONE! You want to take it seriously. Is this a commentary on immigration? I mean there are no laughs at first. Except maybe for when Teyana Taylor's Perfidia Beverly Hills first encounters Sean Penn's Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw. The plot seems so fantastical, an underground rebel organization akin to the Weathermen, one which we don't have today (don't tell me Antifa is equal, Antifa is not even an organization!), taking violent action. The inspiration for putting their lives on the line is not made clear. And then they're robbing banks... Is this like the Symbionese Liberation Army?
And then sixteen years go by and you start to wonder...is this like a Mexican drug lord movie, like "Sicario," or is it a family drama and...why should I care so much?
I know, I know, the reviews talk about the humor. And there is some, but it's not like I was laughing out loud, I smiled at most.
And then it's a chase movie.
But all the critics have waxed rhapsodic. Maybe this is why they no longer have pull. If an adult went to the theatre to see this based only on reviews, if they didn't consider themselves a cineaste, they'd be angry, they'd want their money back, and they would not journey to the theatre soon thereafter, if at all.
This is not what the public wants. This faux intellectualism. It's not as bad as Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master," then again, his previous film, "Licorice Pizza," had tone and not much more...but at least the tone was consistent.
Do I think "One Battle After Another" would be best seen on a big screen? Sure. The cinematography was rich. But I watched it on an iPad and I didn't feel that I was missing anything. Then again, the intelligentsia will say that's why I didn't love it. Hogwash.
Let's say that theatrical is for event movies only. It is no longer a broad-based business. If anything, what is purveyed by Netflix and the other streamers is superior. And now you've got Tinseltown's knickers in a twist regarding Netflix's acquisition of Warner Bros. The two main fears being that Netflix will make fewer films and those they do produce won't be distributed theatrically.
This reminds me of nothing so much as Napster. You had the record labels and old farts saying that the CD was superior, that no one would want anything better, need anything better. But now computers and cars don't even come with a CD drive, on demand streaming is king, and vinyl is mostly a souvenir, don't let the press persuade you otherwise.
Why can't Hollywood do what Spotify did and get ahead of the market?
Oh, that's right, that's what Netflix did. It switched its formula from rental to streaming and there was public outcry, people loved their DVDs! Ask them today if they even have a DVD player! And then all the studios licensed their product, building Netflix's business, and Netflix started production itself. This is Clayton Christensen's Innovator's Dilemma write large. If you don't disrupt yourself, someone else will!
When I think back on 2025, the best production I saw was "Adolescence." Notice that despite all the ink spilled about "White Lotus," no one is talking about that anymore, it was formulaic when "Adolescence" was not. And we can talk all about the one extended shot technique, but that was secondary to the plot and the performances. I still think about "Adolescence," it raised issues in our culture today. Am I going to think about "One Battle After Another" tomorrow? No!
Sometimes the wisdom of the crowd is right. Not always, but if you're in the business of commerce/money as opposed to pure art, you should look at what the people say.
And don't crap on the public too much. People do not want retreads, they always want something new, they're open to something new, the fact that the purveyors don't give it to them is something else.
There might be an audience for superhero movies, there might be an audience for the Spotify Top 50, but most people don't even bother, they're not even shrugging their shoulders, they just don't care, these productions don't speak to them.
And did you read in the "Wall Street Journal" today about the lack of melody in today's popular music? Once the mainstream goes on something you know there's a problem:
"Has America Lost Its Melody? - Something changed in popular music around 2005. I suspect it reflects a change in the country."
Free link: https://www.wsj.com/opinion/has-america-lost-its-melody-0ec9fc31?st=1yjWtD&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
This is how Lou Pearlman ate the labels' lunch with Backstreet Boys and NSYNC! The majors weren't selling this stuff, there was no competition. All the A&R people were too hip. Just like they're too hip to sign something today that's pure melody, laden with hooks...it just doesn't get them off.
The record labels lost touch with the public years ago. That's why the business is stale. And theatrical films are almost laughable.
Do I think they spent a lot of money on "One Battle After Another"? Do I think everybody involved gave it their best? Yes. But I also think it was the emperor's new clothes...didn't anybody see that this production didn't appeal to enough people to make a profit? That the movie is flawed in tone and ultimately indescribable? Is it action, romance, comedy...so much is thrown in that the audience can't ultimately be engaged, never mind that there is nothing to take from the flick.
And if you think "One Battle After Another" is an allegory about today's political scene... Yeah, right. And today's revolutionaries don't even fight with violence, they fight with technology, computers, the internet...but everybody involved in this picture is an old fart invested in old ways. Hell, I'd like to see a movie about Ukraine's homemade drones and how they're attacking Russia's vulnerabilities, that's modern warfare... Not some nincompoops out of the sixties who look so out of date they're laughable. And I'm not laughing with the filmmakers, but at them.
First and foremost it has to be an enjoyable experience. No one cares about the look and the performances if the story isn't great. Same deal with music... Without a good song, it doesn't matter how good the playing is.
The film industry needs the equivalent of the Ramones and the punk bands of the seventies, revolting against the overproduced rock of the day.
Oh wait! We've got that, on TikTok and YouTube. Instead of criticizing these platforms, creators have to study them, to see what is so attractive about these videos.
And I'll bet most of the reviewers saying how great "One Battle After Another" is, and those at the studio too, don't even have a TikTok account, they're out of touch with the public. The public is ravenous, if it finds anything good it will embrace it and spread the word.
"One Battle After Another" is not it.
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