What It’s About
Explosives expert Bob Ferguson (Di Caprio) commits sabotage against an authoritarian government with his foxy, fearless partner, Perfidia (Taylor). Perfidia also has a memorable encounter with the military man who’s been chasing them, the bizarre Captain Steven Lockjaw (Penn). Bob and Perfidia have a daughter, but she doesn’t take to motherhood. Fast forward sixteen years, and daughter Willa (Infiniti) now lives with her paranoid, perpetually stoned dad. When Lockjaw resumes his hunt for Bob and (now) Willa, Bob must snap out of his haze to protect his daughter’s life, and his own.
Why We Love It
Anderson’s sprawling, propulsive film clocks in at 160 minutes, but flies by. Packed with so much incident and such distinctive characters, “Battle” is a wild, colorful thrill ride, with some Kubrickian satire thrown in with villain Lockjaw, played with gusto by Penn. DiCaprio also scores as Bob, a mess we still want to root for, and Del Toro nearly steals it as Sensei Sergio, the ever-mellow martial arts instructor who helps Bob and Willa. This astonishing movie begs to be seen more than once.