Paul Thomas Anderson’s new film reads like a fever dream dressed up as moral clarity, and it wears its contempt for law and order like a badge of honor. From the opening sequence where revolutionaries storm an immigration detention center and free detainees, the movie brazenly frames violent direct action as romantic and righteous rather than criminal. That’s not art that wrestles with hard questions — it’s propaganda that normalizes breaking the law for an ideological cause.
Hollywood and the cultural press are already hoisting this movie onto a pedestal, treating raw spectacle as profundity while ignoring the consequences of celebrating chaos. Critics and pundits are calling it timely and fearless even as studios count opening-weekend dollars and awards-season chatter. Praising a film for being “of our moment” doesn’t excuse the moral sloppiness of cheering on attacks against institutions that keep our communities safe.
Dig a little deeper and the movie’s politics are obvious: it modernizes its source material into a narrative where immigration-enforcement facilities are not places of law but targets to be liberated, and attacks on civic infrastructure are framed as legitimate resistance. That isn’t subtle commentary; it’s explicit storytelling that places the audience in the sympathizer’s seat for anti-government action. When mainstream outlets applaud that posture as “brave,” they are signaling that the elites prefer ideology over order.
These are not abstract worries. Across the country, ICE facilities and federal immigration operations have become flashpoints, and there have been real incidents of violence and attempted attacks in recent months. To hand-wave a movie that glamorizes raiding detention centers is to ignore the real risk that individuals inspired by on-screen heroics will try to translate fantasy into lawbreaking. Hollywood bears a responsibility when its narratives intersect with a volatile real-world moment.
Conservative critics aren’t reflexively rejecting artistry — we’re calling out the double standard where films that lionize law-breaking by the left are feted while anyone on the right who questions the premise is smeared as a fascist. Some reviewers have even described the film as “masterfully crafted, morally repugnant,” noting that slick production values don’t neutralize a dangerous political message. When cultural gatekeepers pump out applause for moral relativism dressed as nuance, ordinary Americans are left to pick up the pieces.
This isn’t a call to censor art; it’s a call for accountability. If Hollywood wants to portray revolution, fine — but don’t pretend there aren’t consequences when the screen idolizes the very violence that wrecks our cities and puts officers’ lives at risk. Families deserve entertainment that challenges and uplifts, not films that cheer on the dismantling of lawful institutions while lecturing the rest of us about morality.
Patriots who love country and common sense should think twice before rewarding studios that traffic in anti-law-enforcement romanticism. Vote with your wallet, demand balanced storytelling, and hold studios accountable when they choose politics over responsibility. Our communities — and the brave men and women who enforce the law — deserve better than to be props in a director’s sermon.
