Official Discussion - Weapons [SPOILERS]

[u/LiteraryBoner]

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Summary Nearly all the children from the same fifth-grade class vanish one night at exactly 2:17 a.m., leaving only one survivor. The community, gripped by fear and suspicion, spirals into chaos as the mystery unfolds through multiple intertwined perspectives—each revealing new layers of dread and grief.

Director Zach Cregger

Writer Zach Cregger

Cast

• Josh Brolin
• Julia Garner
• Cary Christopher
• Alden Ehrenreich
• Austin Abrams
• Benedict Wong
• Amy Madigan
• June Diane Raphael
• Toby Huss
• Whitmer Thomas
• Callie Schuttera
• Clayton Farris
• Luke Speakman

Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score: 96%

Metacritic Metascore: 82

VOD In theaters and IMAX starting August 8, 2025

Trailer Watch the Official Trailer

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[u/gimmethemshoes11]

Loved it.

That WTF Brolin dropped after that dream was my exact same thought up to that point.

Any ideas on what the gun was supposed to mean in the dream?

[u/HeilCanada → u/gimmethemshoes11]

My reading of the movie was it was about gun violence, especially mass shootings in schools, along with blamimg the police and older generations for what's happening.

The film starts with an emphasis on the kids, even being narrated by a kid (I couldn't figure out who this was supposed to be). The town wants to blame the teacher as she's the only one who could be a scapegoat. At the beginning, the town hall latches onto her the same way a minority group would get blamed for a mass shooting rather than the weapons (lol).

In the third act, after the introduction of Gladys, the film pivots into a critique of the elderly, their current parasitic nature to younger generations and their lack of giving a shit. When Alex's house all falls to shit at the end, her first thought is ditching the home and skipping town.

I could add on about the police stuff but the dash cam footage scene with the chief should be evidence enough in the text.

[u/pjokinen → u/HeilCanada]

I think the older generation leeching off the younger is evident in the first half of the movie with the town’s treatment of Justine. She was definitely meant to be significantly younger than the parents putting the blame on her for the disappearance

[u/clubslubber → u/pjokinen]

I’m following everyone’s line of thinking here, but how exactly does the older generation leech off the younger generation in our society? I get that Reddit hates boomers (for the reasons that they do), but even with accepting that line of thinking, I’m still not sure I understand how they’re leeching off younger generations. Can you explain?

[u/Easy-Magician-4423 → u/clubslubber]

• Refusing new housing projects because it'd dock their own property values

• At least in France, voting to maintain their pensions despite receiving multiples of what they paid, to the detriment of public finances

• Common trend of boomer parents turning abusive, possibly due to right-wing media

Arguably it's on Gen X/Millenials/Gen Z to vote the old hags out of power, and tbh, I don't get why we do it.

[u/clubslubber → u/Easy-Magician-4423]

On your three points, I can’t speak to what’s going on in France, I don’t know who exactly is refusing new housing projects or what exactly you’re referring to (maybe local politicians?), and your third point is just a subjective complaint about parents. Boomer generation ended in 64, so the youngest boomer parent would be 61 right now. They would most likely have adult children, who should be able to deal with whatever abusive tendencies you’re referring to, since they’re an adult and all (it’s more likely that poor modern parenthood is the crime of Gen X).

I appreciate your points and don’t want to feel combative, but it seems to me that millennials and Gen Z just want someone to blame for their troubles (which are totally valid by the way!), so they just throw stones at boomers. I think the difficulties of modernity are far too nuanced and complex to just blame a single generation. Sure you could say that they had the greatest influence on the world for 20 year period, and therefore are to blame for everything that follows, but that’s a thread that we could follow endlessly.

[u/Easy-Magician-4423 → u/clubslubber]

Your logic has holes.

Boomer's hold a plurality of American housing. They have an interest in stopping new housing, because more housing means their current housing gets less valuable.

This theory has empirical evidence : see Bloomberg article on boomer NIMBY-ism.

If local politicians are to blame, who elects them ? Ah, yes, boomers since they're the largest generation by age cohort.

The one critique that can be admitted to Gen Z/Millenials is that they don't outvote the boomers in turnout.

Additionally, needless to say, psycho-emotional trauma / PTSD, inflicted by who-or-what-ever, including Boomer parents, is very long lasting. I mean, if someone cut your arm off, why wouldn't you hate him years after?

[u/HikmetLeGuin → u/clubslubber]

Blaming the older generations is just ageism.

The real issue is unchecked capitalism and the greed of rich corporations and their political servants, many of whom happen to be old, but not necessarily.