I just got out of Weapons about an hour or so ago. As you can see from my reaction video, I really liked it.
This is one of those movies where I tell people not to read the reviews and don’t watch the footage and trailers online. Just go see it.
I was left with a “HOLY SH-T!” reaction.
That said, after seeing Weapons, come back and check out my thoughts below.
Note: Spoilers follow (not direct ones).
Let me start off by saying I didn’t watch any of the footage or trailers, and I didn’t know what Weapons was about other than some kids disappear. I think that made my experience all the better.
Weapons is Zach Cregger’s follow-up to Barbarian. I’ll be honest, while it seems everyone raves about Barbarian, I really didn’t like it. The flick has some “people doing dumb sh-t” moments, which I can’t stand. Read my review for Jurassic World Rebirth for more on that.
I’ll say I like Weapons A LOT better than Barbarian.
While Weapons doesn’t have people doing dumb sh-t, there are scenes that should have been better thought out. For example, Julia Garner’s character would definitely have locked her car in front of that house, especially considering how everyone in the town was after her!
Or how about seventeen kids disappear, and the one kid that doesn’t, all of a sudden starts walking to school by himself and shopping alone! I take it that Cregger and none of the producers have kids???
What else bugged me? Oh, the cop car is just sitting outside the house. Certainly, dispatch would have known he went missing or didn’t check in. They never showed him check-in, but I suppose, SPOILER may have forced him to.
The house with all the windows covered with paper. The police don’t think anything of it, really. Ehhh…
With many horror movies, including Barbarian, you have to suspend your disbelief. I get it.
I wish Cregger had fleshed out the story a bit better in Weapons, particularly by excluding the police brutality content. There’s also some gay stuff thrown in. However, in Cregger’s defense, he did work the police brutality stuff into the plot of the movie, and it works. Also, the gay stuff isn’t that much, and there is a cool scene involving the two of them.
That’s about all I can complain about, and it didn’t take me out of the movie at all. The rest of the flick more than made up for the weaker moments.
The story starts out pretty slow (it’s intentional) but once it picks up, it picks up. It also switches gears into spoiler-type scenes, which were done really well. There’s also payoff for sticking through it all.
There’s some gore (woah!), and there’s some humor to counter the horror. It’s a great mix.
The music is outstanding. If you listen closely, you can hear beats that sort of mirror your heartbeat. It’s really subtle. Well done. Loved the score. Perfect fit.
Speaking of, what a great cast. I’m so glad Pedro Pascal didn’t star and they went with Josh Brolin instead. He played the father of a missing son perfectly. Julia Garner was also great as the teacher. Amy Madigan was phenomenal.
Zach Cregger also gives us a great ending. I’m not spoiling it. Just go watch it.
The Verdict
Weapons is a solid horror thriller with some minor stumbles, but overall it delivers. The cast is great, the music hits hard, and once the story locks in, it doesn’t let go. Some scenes could’ve used better logic, and a few moments felt like they were there just to make a statement, but they didn’t ruin the experience. It’s funny, gory, intense, smart, and worth seeing in a theater. I give Weapons a 9 out of 10. Looking forward to Cregger’s next movie for sure.
