In an era where superhero fatigue has become a growing concern, filmmakers need to think outside the box and bring fresh perspectives to the genre. Unfortunately, Guhan Senniappan's latest offering, Weapon, falls short of this expectation. The film, produced by Studio Green, is a prime example of what happens when filmmakers remain trapped in their own echo chambers, refusing to look beyond their fascinations and perspectives.
Weapon's plot revolves around a superhero serum stolen from the Nazis by an Indian soldier during Netaji Subhash Chandrabose's meeting with Hitler in 1942. When the Swastika brigade comes to India to retrieve their prized possession, the soldier injects it into his son, Mithran, who grows up to become a superhuman, played by Sathyaraj, with extraordinary abilities such as superhuman strength, telekinesis, and telepathy. However, this premise is just the tip of the iceberg in a convoluted narrative that lacks coherence and originality.
The film's first 30 minutes are a testament to the trite ideas and messy screenwriting that plague the entire production. Weapon introduces a plethora of interconnected subplots, each more shallow than the last, with characters that lack depth and development. From a YouTuber named Agni, Vasanth Ravi, chasing after superheroes for ecological preservation to a secret society called Black Society 9 headed by a supervillain named Dev Krishnav a.k.a DK, Rajiv Menon, the film tries to cram in as many clichéd elements as possible without any regard for coherence or originality.
Even the presence of veteran actor Sathyaraj fails to salvage the film. Despite his formidable presence as a Logan-meets-Professor X-meets-Jean Grey figure, Sathyaraj is hamstrung by a plot that uses him merely as a showpiece to center the story around. The emotional investment that could have been derived from Mithran's backstory is squandered by the use of shoddy-looking AI-generated images, adding a layer of plasticity to an already lackluster narrative.
The film's poor execution extends beyond its writing, with its editing, conception of scenes, and staging leaving much to be desired. A pivotal scene involving a child being saved from a reckless lorry by a mysterious figure is reminiscent of iconic moments from Christopher Reeve's Superman or Sam Raimi's Spiderman. However, the way this scene is written, executed, and edited, along with the surveillance footage that captures it, highlights the filmmaker's lack of understanding of the fundamental ideas that made superheroes popular in the first place.
Guhan Senniappan's zeal for making superhero content is evident, but his approach suggests that he is stuck in his own filter bubble. To create a successful superhero film, filmmakers need to step out of their echo chambers, explore new ideas, and root their stories in the milieu they are set in. Weapon's failure to do so results in a forgettable misfire that even its superhumans cannot save.
