WEAPONS
8.5 / 10
Well, that was way better than Highest 2 Lowest.
Weapons, the latest entry from writer/director Zach Cregger, fresh off the success of Barbarian, is the surprise box office hit of the year, with over $230 million dollars earned worldwide in a month of release.
It’s received great reviews from both critics and audiences and motivated me to catch a matinee of it despite it having been out for a few weeks already. Let’s just say I was super happy with my decision.
The tension building starts from the get go, as we’re introduced to Julia Garner’s Justine, an elementary school teacher who likes her vodka warm and her men mustachioed, and whose entire class of students has suddenly disappeared on the same night at the same time – 2:17am, many of them gloriously captured in Ring camera footage and the like.
All except for a mysterious little boy named Alex.
Cregger employs multiple points-of-view as we re-live the few days in question in the film, beginning with Justine and extending out to Josh Brolin’s Archer, the father of another missing student. Benedict Wong’s Marcus, Justine’s boss and head of her school. Alden Ehrenreich’s Paul, a bumbling cop and Justine’s sometime paramour, the lonely boy Alex and others. It’s a great approach to switching up the pacing and tone, while injecting different vibes into the film based on the characters we’re accompanying.
The structure of the film really stood out to me, because it effectively manages the audience’s building dread with doses of action, humor and gravity. Each character’s tone is prevalent throughout their section and the characters are allowed time for development which enables their stories to fit into the larger narrative with interlocking efficiency.
By the time we understand what is actually happening in this town, Cregger’s developed his cast into an interwoven and cohesive story that capably raises the stakes while introducing elements of the supernatural that evokes fear, dread and horror as well as a memorable villain that is sure to be a hit at Halloween parties this year.
More than anything, Weapons is a good time at the movies – the reason I go to the movies to begin with. As soon as it finished, my mom turned to me and said, “That was really well made.” So kudos to Zack Cregger. You have my mom’s seal of approval.
If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly encourage you to do so, preferably in a theater where you can share the jump scares with a willing audience. I definitely screamed out loud at least once.
I give this movie an 8.5 out of 10 – my highest score thus far – and my enthusiastic recommendation.
Weapons, the latest entry from writer/director Zach Cregger, fresh off the success of Barbarian, is the surprise box office hit of the year, with over $230 million dollars earned worldwide in a month of release.
It’s received great reviews from both critics and audiences and motivated me to catch a matinee of it despite it having been out for a few weeks already. Let’s just say I was super happy with my decision.
The tension building starts from the get go, as we’re introduced to Julia Garner’s Justine, an elementary school teacher who likes her vodka warm and her men mustachioed, and whose entire class of students has suddenly disappeared on the same night at the same time – 2:17am, many of them gloriously captured in Ring camera footage and the like.
All except for a mysterious little boy named Alex.
Cregger employs multiple points-of-view as we re-live the few days in question in the film, beginning with Justine and extending out to Josh Brolin’s Archer, the father of another missing student. Benedict Wong’s Marcus, Justine’s boss and head of her school. Alden Ehrenreich’s Paul, a bumbling cop and Justine’s sometime paramour, the lonely boy Alex and others. It’s a great approach to switching up the pacing and tone, while injecting different vibes into the film based on the characters we’re accompanying.
The structure of the film really stood out to me, because it effectively manages the audience’s building dread with doses of action, humor and gravity. Each character’s tone is prevalent throughout their section and the characters are allowed time for development which enables their stories to fit into the larger narrative with interlocking efficiency.
By the time we understand what is actually happening in this town, Cregger’s developed his cast into an interwoven and cohesive story that capably raises the stakes while introducing elements of the supernatural that evokes fear, dread and horror as well as a memorable villain that is sure to be a hit at Halloween parties this year.
More than anything, Weapons is a good time at the movies – the reason I go to the movies to begin with. As soon as it finished, my mom turned to me and said, “That was really well made.” So kudos to Zack Cregger. You have my mom’s seal of approval.
If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly encourage you to do so, preferably in a theater where you can share the jump scares with a willing audience. I definitely screamed out loud at least once.
I give this movie an 8.5 out of 10 – my highest score thus far – and my enthusiastic recommendation.