Weapons is one of the year’s best

Weapons – 2025

Written and Directed by Zach Cregger
Starring Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Cary Christopher, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Benedict Wong, Amy Madigan, Cary Christopher

Weapons starts off with the disappearance of all but one of the children in a second grade class. We get to see each of them run through the night (at 2:17 a.m.) like flying missiles. Carefree and entranced at once.

The story then splinters into several parts. We see the perspectives of the class teacher, Justine (Garner). We also see one of the student’s father, Archer (Brolin), and Principal Marcus (Wong). Then there’s incompetent police officer, Paul (Ehrenreich), and local Junkie, (Abrams). Finally, we see Alex, the lone student (Christopher).

Cregger is masterful at weaving through these perspectives. The film feels like John Sayles meets Quentin Tarantino. There is not a moment that the viewers perspective or feelings are not completely controlled by the director.

The feeling moves from dread, to ludicrousness, to mystery, to shock, to humor and then back to each. Each of the performances rise to the occasion. This is not a star vehicle for any of the acting talent. They all make fine and incredibly flawed characters. Madigan has never been this effective in her magnificent career.

Those with a weak stomach would do well to use caution viewing this film. There are some completely grotesque moments in Weapons, especially once we discover how the film got its name. One should still give the movie a watch. It’s advanced film making. There hasn’t been a film experience like this since Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.

Please though, do make an effort to see this film in theaters. Don’t let the rapture pass you by.
(***** out of *****)