Weapons movie review: This Josh Brolin, Zach Cregger film starts with chills, ends with a whimper
Writer-director Zach Cregger, anointed the new horror-meister with the 2022 'Barbarian', returns with a small-town-mystery-disappearance which could feel like a trope– so very Stephen Kingian in its thematic concerns- which manages to stay fresh and compelling, but only up until a point.
It's the kind of suburban American town where everyone seems to be connected to each other. One fine morning, teacher Justine Grady (Julia Garner) walks into her empty classroom, with the exception of a solo boy sitting in the last row, angry parents gather to sling mud. How is it, demands Archer Graff (Josh Brolin), father of the missing Mathew, that the class teacher is as equally at sea as the parents? How can Ms Grady claim that she knows nothing? What is she hiding?
We do get some answers, and in the way the plot unfolds, with different characters becoming the focal points of their 'chapters', we see Cregger's skills in keeping things tight, with jump scares showing up just where they should.
Justine herself is shown to have flaws. She likes her drink, and is to be seen spiking her juice as she stakes out the home of Alex (Cary Christopher), the little boy who has been left behind by his mates. All she wants is to ask some questions, she protests, when questioned by policeman Paul (Alden Ehrenreich) who has history with her. The latter too is no noble cop, coming down harder than he should have on vagrant-druggie Anthony (Austin Abrams), who in turn may have seen more than he should in the basement of a darkened home he breaks into, in search of loot he can sell for his next fix.
Concerned school principal Andrew (Benedict Wong) is steered towards asking some questions of his own from the hollow-eyed Alex: did he hear any of classmates planning the dash-at-night? Could Andrew speak to Alex's parents? They are unwell, declares a visiting aunt (Amy Madigan), and she is taking care of Alex till they are better. At this point, things could have gone anywhere, but a twist takes 'Weapons' into a oh-no-we've-seen-this-before direction.
Also Read | Freakier Friday movie review: Lindsay Lohan, Jamie Lee Curtis film raises racial-ethnic-mix bar, serves a bit of Karan Johar
You could be left searching for metaphors and meanings in this tale, especially when it comes to gunmen stalking primary school classrooms in the US, shooting to kill innocent children. What did this town and its people do to deserve such punishment? After a point, though, it all starts feeling empty: monsters without motives are no longer interesting, and the big reveal takes away the much-needed suspense. Where initially you couldn't move from the edge of your seat, the bloody fallout leaves you underwhelmed.
Weapons movie cast: Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Cary Christopher, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Benedict Wong, Amy Madigan
Weapons movie director: Zach Cregger
Weapons movie rating: Two and a half stars
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
3 hours ago
- India Today
Jim Lovell, commander of Apollo 13 moon mission, dies at 97
Jim Lovell, the American astronaut who led the harrowing Apollo 13 mission and turned the near disaster into one of NASA's greatest survival stories, died on Friday at the age of 97.'Jim's character and steadfast courage helped our nation reach the Moon and turn a potential tragedy into a success from which we learned an enormous amount,' NASA said in a statement. "We mourn his passing even as we celebrate his achievements.' One of NASA's most travelled astronauts in the agency's first decade, Lovell flew four times Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8 and Apollo 13 with the two Apollo flights riveting the folks back on in Cleveland in 1928, Lovell's journey to the stars wasn't easy. But he carved his name into history with missions like Gemini 7 and Apollo 8 the first crew to orbit the moon. Still, it was Apollo 13 in 1970 that made him a legend. What was meant to be NASA's third moon landing turned into a fight for survival after an oxygen tank exploded, leaving the crew stranded 200,000 miles from Earth. 'A 'successful failure' describes exactly what Apollo 13 was,' Lovell told Reuters in 2010. 'Because it was a failure in its initial mission — nothing had really been accomplished. But the outcome was a great success in the ability of people to take an almost-certain catastrophe and turn it into a successful recovery.'Lovell and his crewmates Jack Swigert and Fred Haise battled freezing temperatures, hunger, and a rapidly draining life support system for nearly four days. Their famous radio call, 'Houston, we've had a problem here,' delivered by Swigert, was immortalized by Tom Hanks in the 1995 movie Apollo 13 — a role Lovell himself chuckled about. 'I said, 'Kevin Costner' should play me,' he once said. 'But Hanks did a great job, and he never lets me forget it.' Lovell made a cameo appearance in the film as the commander of the US Navy ship that retrieves the astronauts and shakes hands with safely splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, Lovell's story became a symbol of calm under pressure and human ingenuity. He retired from NASA in 1973 but stayed close to space history, co-writing Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13, which inspired the Hollywood film. He graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1952 and became a test pilot before being selected as a NASA astronaut in 1962. He and his family ran a now-closed restaurant in suburban Chicago, Lovell's of Lake Forest. His wife, Marilynn, died in 2023. Survivors include four children. In a statement, his family hailed him as their 'hero.' 'We will miss his unshakeable optimism, his sense of humour, and the way he made each of us feel we could do the impossible,' his family said. 'He was truly one of a kind.'- EndsInputs from Reuters, Associated Press
NDTV
4 hours ago
- NDTV
Jim Lovell, Commander Of NASA's Apollo 13 Moon Mission, Dies At 97
American astronaut Jim Lovell, commander of the failed 1970 mission to the moon that nearly ended in disaster but became an inspirational saga of survival and the basis for the hit movie "Apollo 13," has died at the age of 97, NASA said on Friday. Hollywood superstar Tom Hanks played Lovell in director Ron Howard's acclaimed 1995 film. It recounted NASA's Apollo 13 mission, which was planned as humankind's third lunar landing but went horribly wrong when an onboard explosion on the way to the moon put the lives of the three astronauts in grave danger. Lovell and crew mates Jack Swigert and Fred Haise endured frigid, cramped conditions, dehydration and hunger for 3-1/2 days while concocting with Mission Control in Houston ingenious solutions to bring the crippled spacecraft safely back to Earth. "A 'successful failure' describes exactly what (Apollo) 13 was - because it was a failure in its initial mission - nothing had really been accomplished," Lovell told Reuters in 2010 in an interview marking the 40th anniversary of the flight. The outcome, the former Navy test pilot said, was "a great success in the ability of people to take an almost-certain catastrophe and turn it into a successful recovery." The Apollo 13 mission came nine months after Neil Armstrong had become the first person to walk on the moon when he took "one giant leap for mankind" during the Apollo 11 mission on July 20, 1969. There was drama even before Apollo 13's launch on April 11, 1970. Days earlier, the backup lunar module pilot inadvertently exposed the crew to German measles but Lovell and Haise were immune to it. Ken Mattingly, the command module pilot, had no immunity to measles and was replaced at the last minute by rookie astronaut Swigert. The mission generally went smoothly for its first two days. But moments after the crew finished a TV broadcast showing how they lived in space, an exposed wire in a command module oxygen tank sparked an explosion that badly damaged the spacecraft 200,000 miles (320,000 km) from Earth. The accident not only ruined their chances of landing on the moon but imperiled their lives. "Suddenly there's a 'hiss-bang. And the spacecraft rocks back and forth,'" Lovell said in a 1999 NASA oral history interview. "The lights come on and jets fire. And I looked at Haise to see if he knew what caused it. He had no idea. Looked at Jack Swigert. He had no idea. And then, of course, things started to happen." 'HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM' Swigert saw a warning light and told Mission Control: "Houston, we've had a problem here." In the movie, the line is instead attributed to Lovell and famously delivered by Hanks - slightly reworded - as: "Houston, we have a problem." With a dangerous loss of power, the three astronauts abandoned the command module and went to the lunar module - designed for two men to land on the moon. They used it as a lifeboat for a harrowing 3-1/2 day return to Earth. The astronauts and the U.S. space agency experts in Houston scrambled to figure out how to get the crew safely home with a limited amount of equipment at their disposal. Electrical systems were turned off to save energy, sending temperatures plummeting to near freezing. Water was drastically rationed, food was short and sleep was nearly impossible. The crew had to contrive a filter system to remove high levels of carbon dioxide that could have proven deadly. "The thought crossed our mind that we were in deep trouble. But we never dwelled on it," Lovell said in the NASA interview. "We never admitted to ourselves that, 'Hey, we're not going to make it.' Well, only one time - when Fred looked at ... the lunar module and found out we had about 45 hours worth of power and we were 90 hours from home." People worldwide were captivated by the events unfolding in space - and got a happy ending. The astronauts altered course to fly a single time around the moon and back to Earth, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean near Samoa on April 17, 1970. Lovell never got another chance to walk on the moon after Apollo 13, which was his fourth and final space trip. His first trip had been the Gemini 7 mission in 1965, featuring the first link-up of two manned spacecraft. His second was Gemini 12 in 1966, the last of the programs that led to the Apollo moon missions. Lovell's third mission was Apollo 8 in December 1968, the first to orbit the moon. During a telecast to Earth from their spacecraft on Christmas Eve, Lovell and crew mates Frank Borman and William Anders read verses from the Bible's Book of Genesis. Lovell, who later had a moon crater named in his honor, retired as an astronaut in 1973, working first for a harbor towing company and then in telecommunications. He co-authored a 1994 book, "Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13," that became the basis for Howard's film. Lovell recalled a meeting with Howard in which the director asked the astronaut which actor he would want to play him. "I said, 'Kevin Costner,'" Lovell said. "And Hanks never lets me forget that... But Hanks did a great job." Lovell made a cameo appearance in the film as the commander of the U.S. Navy ship that retrieves the astronauts and shakes hands with Hanks. James Lovell was born in Cleveland on March 25, 1928. He was just 5 when his father died and his mother moved the family to Milwaukee. He became interested in space as a teenager. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1952 and became a test pilot before being selected as a NASA astronaut in 1962. He had four children with his wife, Marilyn.
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
Space explorer, navy officer and family hero: Nasa astronaut Jim Lovell dies at 97; commander of ill- fated Apollo 13 mission
Nasa astronaut Jim Lovell, the commander of the Apollo 13 mission (Image credits: AP) American Nasa astronaut Jim Lovell, who commanded the Apollo 13 mission that was forced to abort its lunar landing in 1970, died Friday at the age of 97. Lovell passed away in Lake Forest, Illinois, according to a Nasa news release. The cause of death was not immediately disclosed. Lovell was a pioneering figure in human spaceflight, being the first astronaut to make four spaceflights and logging over 715 hours in space. Before Apollo 13, he flew on the Gemini 7, Gemini 12, and Apollo 8 missions. Apollo 8, which orbited the moon without landing, made Lovell the first person to see the moon up close twice, reported CNN. During the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission, Lovell commanded the crew alongside astronauts John Swigert Jr and Fred Haise Jr. About 200,000 miles from Earth, an oxygen tank in their service module exploded, crippling their power and life support systems. Lovell famously informed mission control, 'Houston, we've had a problem.' With their lunar landing abandoned, the crew had to perform critical engine burns to loop around the far side of the moon and set a course back to Earth. After a tense journey, they splashed down safely in the South Pacific Ocean about three days later. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like They Were So Beautiful Before; Now Look At Them; Number 10 Will Shock You Reportingly Undo The mission became known as the 'successful failure' of the Apollo program. The dramatic story of Apollo 13 was later portrayed in Ron Howard's 1995 film, 'Apollo 13.' Lovell's family released a statement requesting privacy and said they were 'saddened to announce the passing of our beloved father, USN Captain James A 'Jim' Lovell, a Navy pilot and officer, astronaut, leader, and space explorer.' They added, 'We are enormously proud of his amazing life and career accomplishments, highlighted by his legendary leadership in pioneering human space flight. But, to all of us, he was Dad, Granddad, and the Leader of our family. Most importantly, he was our Hero.' Acting Nasa administrator Sean Duffy praised Lovell's legacy, saying his 'calm strength under pressure helped return the crew safely to Earth and demonstrated the quick thinking and innovation that informed future Nasa missions.'
