WEAPONS Movie Review by TSJ |

Weapons Movie Review by TSJ

Weapons is one of the more remarkable movies I have seen in recent years.

In fact, I would go so far as to say that it is in the same realm as Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners and Jonathan Demme’s Silence of the Lambs. Yes, Weapons is that remarkable.

The setup is pretty straightforward. One early morning, at 2:17 am, seventeen children from the same school class get up from their beds and leave their houses. They run into the night and collectively disappear. Although there are images captured by security cameras, ring cameras, and so on, there is no other evidence. They’re just … gone. What follows are weeks of investigation and scrutiny and study and interrogations, and yet there are no answers.

And that’s just in the first three minutes.

The great thing about the film is that none of that is shown. It all occurs in voiceover in the film’s first minutes, so we don’t have to watch any of it, because it’s not necessary. What’s crucial to Weapons is why they disappeared, where they are, and who is responsible. It’s brilliant filmmaking and I appreciated the streamlined nature of this storytelling.

The film follows a number of characters, and as viewers, it’s our responsibility to study the events and try to decipher what is happening. Each is compelling and has strong motivations to solve the mystery or bring retribution to those responsible. Some are suspects, some are hapless bystanders hauled savagely into the story, and some are victims we can empathize with:

Miss Candy, the children’s teacher, played by Julie Garner. She is wonderful in this film
Paul, a police officer helping the investigation, played by Alden Ehrenreich
Archer, played by Josh Brolin, who is the father of one of the missing students
Principal Marcus, played by Benedict Wong
Student Alex, played by Cary Christopher
Homeless drug addict James, played by Austin Abrams

Julie Garner as Miss Candy

I don’t want to give away any important plot points. It is a fantastic mystery that will make you think and question everyone until several huge reveals. It is creepy and mysterious, and director Zach Cregger has really tapped into a genre that is difficult to effectively express. This movie is right up there with Prisoners. In fact, apparently Mindhunter and Zodiac‘s director, David Fincher, worked with Cregger on post production to help give the film the creepy aesthetic. They succeeded on every level.

Huge kudos to Zach Cregger, who also wrote the movie. I will be hunting out his previous film, Barbarian, to watch.

Josh Brolin as Archer

This movie has stayed with me long after viewing. The emotion on the screen is clear, and the passion that went into making it is obvious. I enjoyed the layered nature of the characters, and how each had a strong backstory that directed their actions, emotions, expressions, anger, fears, and more. In particular, Julie Garner impressed me; she was really compelling to watch.

I also want to write about one element in particular, and how it created a layer of dread and terror, but can’t because I don’t want to spoil it for anyone.

Weapons is the film of the year.

TSJ’s Rating: 9/10

Brolin, Garner, Ehrenreich, Wong

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A Blanket of Steel by Timothy S. Johnston and from Fitzhenry & Whiteside, LTD. is the recipient of the 2024 GLOBAL Thriller Award GRAND PRIZE and the 2024 CYGNUS Award First in Category.

— Timothy S. Johnston, 28 November 2025

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Praise for Timothy S. Johnston’s A Blanket of Steel

“Fans of Clive Cussler’s NUMA Files will be delighted with Timothy S. Johnston’s undersea novels. Truman McClusky and Dirk Pitt are cut from the same adventurer’s cloth.” — Nick Cutter, author of The Deep and The Troop

“Action that ranges from close range combat to torpedo-fueled attacks. The result is a thriller that keeps moving from confrontation to confrontation … with constant danger and the vast depths of the ocean as a setting, there is always reason to keep reading.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Read the book and prepare to be blown away by one of the best writers I have ever had the pleasure to read. Timothy S. Johnston is simply amazing.” — FIVE Stars from Readers’ Favorite

“A Blanket of Steel is not simply a ‘daring do’ thriller … It’s prescient.” — Amazing Stories

“A priority selection. An action-packed story that is hard to put down. A Blanket of Steel is outstanding.” — D. Donovan, Sr. Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

“Innovative technology, Mac taking risks no one else would dare and thinking his way through to brilliant solutions … But the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been before. This is it. The countdown to the final battle … Johnston does an excellent job of keeping the tension taut as he plays with the reader’s perceptions of characters we thought we knew and trusted …” — SFcrowsnest

“Expect to be left breathless. Trust me here. Please. I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.” — Michael Libling, author of The Serial Killer’s Son Takes A Wife and Hollywood North: A Novel in Six Reels

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A BLANKET OF STEEL is out now!

WATCH THE GRIPPING BOOK TRAILER HERE.

FOR PURCHASE OPTIONS CLICK HERE

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A Blanket of Steel from Timothy S. Johnston and Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Ltd.

Book Cover & Jacket Copy:

AN UNSTOPPABLE THREAT!

A mysterious assassin has murdered Cliff Sim, Chief Security Officer of the underwater colony, Trieste. Cliff was a mountain of a man, highly trained, and impossible to defeat in combat. And yet …

Someone brutally beat him and left his broken body in a secret Chinese facility at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

And included a calling card for Truman McClusky, Mayor of Trieste.

Taunting him.

Mac has led the underwater colonies in their fight against the world’s superpowers. Climate change has devastated the surface; nations suffer famine, drought, rebellion, rising waters, and apocalyptic coastal flooding. But now, as Mac leads the underwater colonies to freedom and independence, he’s faced with the gravest threat of his life: a Russian assassin, hellbent on killing Mac and everyone he cares for. Now Mac must uncover the identity of the killer, face him in combat, and at the same time lead people in battle against the largest underwater force ever assembled. It’s Mac’s final test, and to win the war, he must use every tool at his disposal, including the most surprising and devastating underwater weapons ever invented.

If Mac fails, all hope is lost for the future of human colonization on the ocean floors.

But the assassin could be anyone …

Watch your back, Mac.

A Blanket of Steel is the most gripping thriller yet in The Rise of Oceania.

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The other books in The Rise of Oceania series by Timothy S Johnston:

The War Beneath 9781771484718
The Savage Deeps 9781771485067
Fatal Depth 9781554555574
An Island of Light 9781554555819
The Shadow of War 9781554556007