The Weapon is a 2023 American action crime thriller about Dallas Ultio (Tony Schiena), a one-man killing machine on a mysterious rampage. His attacks on biker gangs and meth labs anger the Las Vegas mob boss who is holding Dallas’s girlfriend hostage. But who is Dallas working for? Even torture won’t make him talk. And he won’t stop until justice is served…
Directed and executive produced by and starring Tony Schiena (actor in Darc; Shadow People; Locked Down; Circle of Pain; The Bleeding), making his directorial debut, from a screenplay written by Michael Caissie. Produced by Asif Akbar, Steven Calapai and Justin Giffen. Executive produced by Ryan D. Adams, Barry Brooker, Roger Goff, Bernard Salzmann, Michael Tadross Jr, Dale Winsor Tanguay, Kurt Van Fossen and Stan Wertlieb.
The movie also stars Bruce Dern (The Most Dangerous Game; Hellblazers; Ravage; Freaks; The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant), Sean Patrick Flanery, Cuba Gooding Jr, AnnaLynne McCord, Jack Kesy, Donald Cerrone, Mark Justice, James Chalke, Oleg Prudius, Shannon Ritch, James Wilkoszewski and Donta Tanner.
Reviews:
“The acting is uniformly amateurish, except for pros like Cuba Gooding Jr., Jeff Fahey, and Bruce Dern, who appear in one scene each, for only a few minutes. And characters are irritatingly unintelligent, walking right into death traps viewers will likely see coming a mile away. The film’s ending demonstrates the callousness of it all, making it as close to worthless as a movie can possibly get.” Common Sense Media
“Maybe there are bits and pieces of dialogue that do clear things up, although if there are, it’s buried underneath tough guy posturing and acting that feels more like wrestling promos that wrestlers would be embarrassed to deliver. Even the villain, Lars, looks wildly out of place as if he should be doing macabre magic; he looks like a cross between Chris Angel and Jared Leto or failed rock musician with no charisma.” Flickering Myth
” …there are sloppy moments where the cameraman is visible, single frames left over from the editing process, and mistimed sound effects riddling the film. It’s a mess. Few things can be as enjoyable as a bad movie, and The Weapon is a complete cluster aside from the few talented people involved (Flanery, Kesy, Fahey, and Gooding) and a few competent fights. If you can survive weaponized incompetence, check it out.” 1 out of 5 stars, Voices from the Balcony
Trailer:
Release:
In the US, The Weapon was released theatrically in select locations and On-Demand (VOD) by Lionsgate on February 17, 2023.
Technical specs:
1 hour 25 minutes
Working title:
Rearview
