Weapon review: Sathyaraj’s sci-fi thriller is a confused mess

Straddling history and science fiction, Guhan Senniappan’s Weapon is a strange film with ideas that never really take off. It begins with a flashback telling us about a ‘superhero serum’ invented by Nazi Germany that finds its way to India through Subhash Chandra Bose and his Tamilian aide. While Hitler was indeed obsessed with creating the ubermensch, a ‘superior’ breed of humans, and conducted human experiments under his genetic project, there isn’t any record of such a serum that actually worked. But, that’s the premise of the film, and buy it we must.

A ‘superman’ who took this serum is still alive, and all the characters in the film are out to find him. This search could have been exciting but Guhan indulges in too much telling –  in an overlong interrogation scene that never seems to end – and barely any showing. You see the inspiration from films like Manoj Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable (2000), but the writing is so thin that nothing feels real. 

YouTuber Agni (Vasanth Ravi) is held in custody after he’s found in suspicious circumstances near the ‘Neutrino Research Centre’ in Theni. He insists that he knows nothing but that his interrogator, a masked man who speaks in a slow, growly voice and is predictably called ‘Ghost’, doesn’t believe him. Why are there so many people called ‘Ghost’ in the Tamil cinema secret service universe? How are they assigned email IDs? Doesn’t it get confusing? I found myself asking such inane questions as the screenplay rushed from one flashback to another. The editing is all over the place and you don’t see a cogent narrative emerging from the mess.

There are several secret societies and gangs in the picture. One is called the Black Society and everyone is dressed in black. Another is called Bloody Skulls (or something like that) and they cover their faces with kerchiefs that have bloody skulls on them. Yet another is called Wolf Gang but they don’t get any merchandise. So unfair.

Anyway, none of these groups is clearly defined or established. The Black Society apparently ‘attacks India’s economy’, and it’s just a motley crew of men and women in a room who seem utterly clueless about what they’re doing in the film. Some of them wear sunglasses in the dark. Ghibran’s loud background music makes us believe they’re really swanky dudes and dudettes. 

The chief of this society is DK (Rajiv Menon), and other familiar faces include Kaniha, Gajaraj, and film critic Baradwaj Rangan (who gets strictly English dialogues). I wondered if this was a super clever jibe at Periyarists, considering the name of the society, the name of its chief, and the presence of a heavily bearded member who looks like Periyar. But I concluded that I was just desperately trying to make sense of what I was watching. The kuriyeedu doesn’t go anywhere. There’s also a bunch of amateur actors who look horribly miscast and fail to make us feel anything. 

Sathyaraj plays a mystery man with a love for elephants. The actor’s screen presence helps, and he looks dapper. However, the role itself is underwhelming. The English dialogues sound like they were written in Tamil and translated to English and the Tamil dialogues sound like they were written in English and translated to Tamil. In one scene, Agni pleads with his girlfriend (Tanya Hope) to understand his mission. Her life is in danger and the poor woman just wants to go home. “Understand me! Understand what I’m saying! Understand me! Please tell me that you understand me. Say yes!” he tells her. And she says, “Yes, I understand.” Girlfriend of the Year. In another scene, Ghost asks his prisoner if he knows what “modus operandi” is and goes on to explain it in that annoying voice. It sounds like a fifth grader trying to impress his classmates with his vocabulary.

Tamil cinema hasn’t had a great run with sci-fi films, and only a few have managed to leave a mark. But as Weapon laboriously drew to its end (and it’s only 120 minutes, mind you) with the promise of a franchise, I was far from enthused. Lay down your weapon please, the audience deserves better. 

Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the film. Neither TNM nor any of its reviewers have any sort of business relationship with the film’s producers or any other members of its cast and crew.

Sowmya Rajendran writes on gender, culture, and cinema. She has written over 25 books, including a nonfiction book on gender for adolescents. She was awarded the Sahitya Akademi’s Bal Sahitya Puraskar for her novel Mayil Will Not Be Quiet in 2015.