One Battle After Another is just Star Wars inside a leftist fever-dream.

Added: 2026-06-01

[00:00:00]One Battle After Another is a rather polarizing movie. Despite winning the Academy Award for Best Film, it seems to be largely misunderstood by audiences.

[00:00:07]Confusion around its messaging and overall meaning has led to criticism from both ends of the political spectrum. Its depiction of left-wing political violence has been interpreted as an endorsement of such acts by the political right, while critiques from the left tend to be directed at the disrespectful way the film approaches progressive ideas, its unflattering depiction of so-called freedom fighters, or that it simply isn't left-wing enough. But before discussing how both sides miss the mark, I'm going to break down all of the ways in which the film is essentially Star Wars, and explain why that's important to the moral of the story, which, based on audience reaction, isn't immediately obvious.

[00:00:40]So, here we go. How is it Star Wars?

[00:00:42]Well, firstly, the film is about a chosen one who, following the fall of a political sect, the Jedi Order, is forced into hiding. This chosen one grows up not knowing her biological parents, one of whom was a great warrior who turned to the dark side. A cabal of evildoers has infiltrated a powerful empire, which sets in motion a plot to wipe out the remnants of the political sect, but also to track down this chosen one. At the head of this pursuit is an evil, power-hungry colonel who happens to be the chosen one's biological father. But when he eventually catches up to the chosen one, he's unable to kill her. The chosen one escapes, and when it looks like the odds are stacked against her, she's able to bring down the Death Star, or the symbolic representation of it in the form of a Ford Mustang, with a perfectly placed attack in a so-called blind spot. In terms of our cast of characters, we have our chosen one, Luke Skywalker, in the form of Willa, a model student who's been trained from a young age to know the ways of the force. She goes through a further training montage at the Sisters of the Brave Beavers compound, and receives a rather Yoda-esque lecture from one of the nuns that goes something to the effect, "The force is strong in this one, but given that your mother went over to the dark side, it's hard to tell if that force is good or bad."

[00:01:47]Willa is defeated by her biological father at first, but rallies to overcome the evil Sith. At the end of the film, she receives a letter from her biological mother who tells her that perhaps she, Willa, will set the world to right. Bob plays our Obi-Wan Kenobi, an aging warrior in hiding who acts as a guardian to our chosen one. He even kind of dresses like a Jedi. We then have two characters that represent the dueling nature of Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader. Perfida flirts with the dark side at first before fully giving herself over to it in the form of Lock Jaw. Once Perfida disappears from the film, it's Lock Jaw that takes over. Sensei Carlos is perhaps a mixture of Yoda and Han Solo. He is after all a sensei who has told Willa the ways of the force, but he also swoops in and saves the day on a number of occasions and also pilots the ship in one of the most memorable scenes. Deandra acts as our Princess Leia, relaying a signal to Willa and alerting her to the present danger. So, why retell Star Wars in a modern or post-modern setting? Well, Star Wars is one of the most famous examples of a messianic tale, a narrative in which a savior or liberator will redeem a group of people and bring about a new peaceful era. It's a very black and white way of thinking. You have your cast of good guys and bad guys, and it all plays out on a grand operatic scale. And it's this perspective that very much emulates a naive teenage vision of the world. The developmental psychologist Jean Piaget described the idea of a messianic stage of human development that occurs during late adolescence. This stage is characterized by the adoption of idealistic social or political ideas and a zealous desire to transform society.

[00:03:15]Driven by adolescent egocentrism, people within this stage attempt to impose their ideals on the world. And so, by placing the film inside the framework of Star Wars, it's not only satirizing satirizing this way of thinking, but we see a distorted vision of the world that reflects the mindset of the members of the French 75. But it doesn't end well for them, and so I stress depiction doesn't equal endorsement. Counter to what many pundits seem to believe, the film is ultimately a fable warning against the dangers of political extremism and politically motivated violence. It's trying to tell us to grow out of this messianic fantasy, and it uses satire to demonstrate the ridiculousness of such extreme world views. The counterproductive violence of the French 75 stands in stark contrast to the non-violent community building of Sensei Carlos. Regardless of your views on illegal immigration, here is an example of a man who has the respect and trust of an entire town who's having a far more positive impact on the cause than the French 75 ever did. And he's doing it all without ever raising a hand to anyone. Funnily enough, he's even a sensei and two of the core tenants of karate are non-violence and conflict avoidance. Furthermore, the film is constantly reminding us to grow up on the things that matter. The funniest sequences in the film involve phone exchanges between Leonardo DiCaprio's character, Bob Ferguson, and a modern leftist who's a bit of a stickler for the rules. He refuses to help Bob because Bob can't remember the right code words. Here it's the unimportant details that get prioritized above saving someone's life. The modern leftist interprets Bob's frustration and helplessness as an attack, a violation of space, or noise triggers. And the whole exchange ends with Bob telling him, "You obviously don't have kids."

[00:04:46]Again, reminding us that it's only after growing up will we be able to put things in a perspective and get our priorities in order. And let's talk about the bad guys. How you could view the scenes in which they feature and not recognize that this is satire is beyond me. Once again, we see characters at the extreme stuck in adolescence. These are seedy little men in their little clubhouses administering childish initiations. I mean, they're called the Christmas Adventurers for [ __ ] sake. Their mission to find dangerous lunatics, haters, and punk trash and stop them is puerile. But the film goes full Dr. Strangelove in one of the final sequences where Lockjaw explains to two members that Perfidy was a sperm thief.

[00:05:22]And very quickly, the older member responds with the question, "A semen demon?" And much of this points to a kind of horseshoe theory of politics. An idea suggesting that the extreme left and extreme right, rather than being at opposite ends of a linear spectrum, curve in and resemble each other. In other words, the two ends of the spectrum have more in common with each other than they do with the center. And there's a further tip of the hat when Lockjaw, representing the extreme right, expresses his admiration for Perfidy, representing the extreme left, with the line, "She was a warrior who fought the weak." And all of this adds up to a call for moderation, to grow up and step back from the extremes. This is perhaps most apparent in the final scene. We see a much more grown-up looking Bob, who's obviously done away with some of his hardcore beliefs from earlier in the film. And the film ends with Willow leaving to attend a protest, not a riot, not a bank robbery or an act of domestic terrorism. She doesn't load up on guns and ammo. She simply hops in the least dramatic car in God's green earth, a Ford Fiesta, and drives off to the tune of American Girl. This isn't a scene which showcases a continuation of the cycle of political extremism, but rather a toning down. And so, given the current political climate, this is perhaps as subversive a message you're likely to get from a big-budget director entrenched in the ultra-liberal culture of Hollywood. And so, credit is owed to Paul Thomas Anderson for having the guts to say something against type and for sneaking it in without the backlash one might have expected. Anyway, I may just be talking out of my ass. Let me know in the comments below.