Movies frequently transform into the reflections of filmmakers confined within their own echo chambers, seemingly resistant to transcend their personal fascinations and perspectives. Guhan Senniappan’s superhero film “Weapon” stands as the latest emblem of this phenomenon. Amidst all the commotion regarding the poor turnout of Marvel and DC productions in recent years; despite how some Hollywood endeavors have effectively navigated the growing superhero fatigue; despite Tamil cinema’s previous lessons on the hazards of not root the narrative within its context; and even with Indian titles like “Minnal Murali” that break conventions, we encounter “Weapon,” a two-hour montage of overused superhero stereotypes that unfold much like a child’s make-believe adventure with action figures.
From the outset to its conclusion, the film utterly lacks a coherent flow. The initial 30 minutes alone suffice to manifest the triteness of its ideas and the disordered nature of its screenwriting. In “Weapon,” the genesis of superpowers stems from a superhero serum, reminiscent of the one in “Captain America,” appropriated from the Nazis by an Indian soldier during Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s meeting with Hitler in 1942. When the Swastika brigade arrives in India to reclaim their prized possession, the soldier injects it into his son, Mithran, who matures into a superhuman (Sathyaraj) endowed with extraordinary strength, telekinesis, and telepathy.
However, in the broader scope of the “Weapon” universe, Mithran is merely a cog in the wheel. In the modern day, a blast at a Neutrino power plant unravels numerous interconnected subplots, each as lackluster as the other and populated by characters as shallow as can be. We encounter Agni (Vasanth Ravi), a YouTuber dedicated to leveraging superheroes for ecological preservation. Then there’s the Black Society 9, a Hydra-like organization manipulating the Indian economy, led by Dev Krishnav, also known as DK (Rajiv Menon); a Lex Luthor-esque figure with the intellect of Kingpin, exploiting children to illicitly test his Limb Regeneration serum derived from lizards (The rapid growth of these limbs would indeed put Marvel characters Deadpool and Lizard to shame). And if that wasn’t enough, there’s a muscular assassin named Solomon blackmailed into undertaking a final mission.
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Also making their way into the narrative is a ragtag group of assassins, the notion of “Kundalini energy,” purported human auras, glowing bee-like flying devices, and a Cyborg-like lead suggesting a potential sequel. Exhausting, isn’t it?
A still from ‘Weapon’
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
None of these characters or concepts manage to leave a lasting impression amidst this chaotic mélange. Even veteran actor Sathyaraj draws the short straw. Possessing a superpower that demands minimal action allows the 69-year-old Sathyaraj to look formidable, akin to this Logan-meets-Professor X-meets-Jean Grey persona. However, his role is restricted to that of a mere showpiece around which the plot revolves. If there was any potential for emotional engagement in the story, it lay in the tragic origin that birthed it all—specifically, how Mithran grew up—but the use of slideshows of shoddy-looking AI-generated images imparts a certain artificiality.
While all this points towards a poorly-constructed screenplay, what renders the viewing experience even more arduous is the disjointed editing, scene conception, and staging. In a pivotal sequence, a child crossing a road is rescued by a ‘mysterious figure’ from a recklessly driven lorry; in the narrative, this incident is supposed to generate critical surveillance footage evidence of superhumans. If the scene immediately reminds you of Christopher Reeve’s “Superman” or Sam Raimi’s “Spiderman,” it underscores the foundational impact of superheroes in pop culture. And simply observing the writing, execution, and editing of this scene—and the manner in which the surveillance footage is captured—reveals that while Guhan may be an aficionado of superhero cinema, the filmmaker within him, eager to create superhero content, needs to venture out of his insular bubble and delve deeper. For now, in the realms of Marvel’s Earth-1218 and DC’s Earth 33, his film remains an unremarkable misfire which none of his superhumans manage to salvage.
“Weapon” is currently playing in theaters, presumably awaiting judgment from discerning viewers who decide to embark on this convoluted adventure.
Tamil cinema / Indian cinema
