'One Battle After Another' is a must-see political thriller with a sense of humor

You'll probably watch “One Battle After Another” for Leonardo DiCaprio, who stars in what critics call writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson’s “most mainstream movie” to date.

- By JANUAR JUNIOR AGUJA

But the real star of the show is Teyana Taylor, whose character is so influential that her choices set the tone for the entire film, even though she appears only in the first act.

Taylor’s role, Perfidia Beverly Hills, is part of a far-left revolutionary group called the French 75 alongside her lover, “Ghetto” Pat (DiCaprio), who trespasses detention centers holding immigrants in custody to free them and carries out nonfatal bombings on offices.

But the circumstances surrounding Perfidia’s “disappearance” cause the group to fall apart — forcing Pat and their infant daughter, Charlene, to go into hiding at Baktan Cross, a “sanctuary city” that refuses, or at least limits, the adoption of the federal government’s immigration laws. There, they assume double identities as Bob and Willa Ferguson.

Sixteen years later, Willa (Chase Infiniti in her big-screen debut) has grown up, inheriting Perfidia’s self-reliance despite her mother’s absence. Bob has grown paranoid that his rebellious past might eventually catch up with him, especially with his daughter, who has grown to believe that her mom was a “hero.”

Bob’s biggest fear comes true when a past enemy of French 75, Col. Steven Lockjaw (Sean Penn), enters Baktan Cross in an attempt to capture Willa. As Bob tries to save his daughter with the help of her sensei, Sergio St. Carlos (Benicio Del Toro) and his former comrades, particularly Deandra (Regina Hall), Willa slowly learns the truth about her mom while contemplating whether to continue her legacy that was rooted in a family of revolutionaries, as a wild goose chase toward her unfolds.