One Battle After Another
Ranked 4 of 24 films by recommenders
People praise it as a politically engaged, cinematically ambitious film about fatherhood and radicalism, though several find it overlong and emotionally hollow.
People praise it as a politically engaged, cinematically ambitious film about fatherhood and radicalism, though several find it overlong and emotionally hollow.
31 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 17
- criticize it
- 14
- approval share
- 55%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 17 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Cinematic storytelling and filmmaking craft
“given how much the film succeeds as an exercise in using the language of cinema to tell a compelling story”
Comment from 15 Mar 2026 in “Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis” “it had some beautiful pieces of film-making”
Comment from 17 Mar 2026 in “'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil” Politically and socially engaging, insightful
“there's nothing nearly as emotionally deep or socio-politically engaging as One Battle After Another”
Comment from 15 Mar 2026 in “A Theory of the World as run by large adult children” “The movie was deeply cynical and piercing critique on radicalism left and right.”
Comment from 17 Mar 2026 in “Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis” “literate, historically aware, personal and very insightful”
Comment from 16 Mar 2026 in “One Battle After Another Review” Excellent, award-worthy film
“One Battle After Another is also excellent”
Comment from 15 Mar 2026 in “A Theory of the World as run by large adult children” “I can see why OBAA won quite a few awards.”
Comment from 17 Mar 2026 in “'The Secret Agent': Exploring a Vibrant, yet Violent Brazil” “it's PTA, all his movies are good”
Comment from 16 Mar 2026 in “Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Emotionally hollow, conflicts unresolved
“found almost no emotion in it because none of the conflicts it sets up actually resolve on screen”
Comment from 15 Mar 2026 in “A Theory of the World as run by large adult children” “there's nothing nearly as emotionally deep or socio-politically engaging as One Battle After Another”
Comment from 15 Mar 2026 in “A Theory of the World as run by large adult children” Heavy-handed, preachy political messaging
“vague political messages and sex are used to take extremely shallow work and make it "adult"”
Comment from 15 Mar 2026 in “A Theory of the World as run by large adult children” “It's up for best picture because to preach, not because it's actually good.”
Comment from 15 Mar 2026 in “Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis” “The movie set out to combat division and failed catastrophically.”
Comment from 16 Mar 2026 in “Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis”
Other films people recommend
The four most recommended other films, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Odyssey by Christopher Nolan | 50 | 37 | 57% | 7 | — | — |
| Perfect Days (2023 film) | 19 | 1 | 95% | 9 | — | Approved |
| The Secret Agent (2025 film) | 18 | 9 | 67% | 2 | — | — |
| One Battle After AnotherThis page | 17 | 14 | 55% | 5 | — | — |
| The Rocky Horror Picture Show | 15 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | Approved |
What people said
28 of the 31 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“didn't even recognize One Battle After Another as the adaptation when he saw it until the credits rolled”
“It's very pretty, but the book is much better”
“it had some beautiful pieces of film-making”
“not my favorite this year, but it was a wild ride”
“one of the worst AAA films in a decade, on every level including narrative and visual”
“I can see why OBAA won quite a few awards.”
“The movie was deeply cynical and piercing critique on radicalism left and right.”
“it's PTA, all his movies are good”
“The movie set out to combat division and failed catastrophically.”
“it's actually a movie about fatherhood and the lengths you go to to raise a child”
“literate, historically aware, personal and very insightful”
“So I feel that's completely fair”
“incomprehensible mess unless you are familiar with US”
“given how much the film succeeds as an exercise in using the language of cinema to tell a compelling story”
“One Battle After Another was just kind of silly”
“It's up for best picture because to preach, not because it's actually good.”
“OBATA is a comedy, everybody but the daughter is a caricature.”
“One Battle After Another is also excellent”
“It said nothing at all, that's the issue with everything.”
“found almost no emotion in it because none of the conflicts it sets up actually resolve on screen”
“the implicit “ho ho! Who’s the father?!” made my eyes roll so hard it knocked me right out of the movie.”
“That feels like childish nonsense to me but then it is wrapped in this "radical chic"”
“vague political messages and sex are used to take extremely shallow work and make it "adult"”
“there's nothing nearly as emotionally deep or socio-politically engaging as One Battle After Another”
“Every single Hollywood movie has authoritarian apologia, you don't have to go to Christopher Nolan or Forrest Gump.”
“skip everything in the earlier timeline at the beginning of the movie. Nothing is lost. It might even be better”
“Why is One Battle after another almost 3 hours?”
“We can find plenty of films that are works of art after the 90s.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.