F1 vs Weapons

F1 is about something. 

Weapons... not so much. Or at least, it's not about anything in a way I found very compelling.

The main theme of F1 concerns our need to prove ourselves, and the damage we can do in blind pursuit of validation and status. Only by relaxing that laser eyed focus on dominance can one truly excel. We collaborate to compete more effectively; fighting your own team because your ego can't handle, at any point, not being number one, is a losing strategy. 

PJ is the young turk driver in F1, out to prove himself to a tiresome degree, and Hayes is his old veteran foil. Cue lots of old man jokes. 

PJ is an unlikeable ass at first, which is naturally is key to his character arc. 

I'm not a big fan of racing movies, but F1 is sumptuously shot, races are phenomenal, and (joy oh joy) advance the character arcs. It's not just an excuse to film cars going fast. Well. Maybe it is, but there's more than enough character to keep you invested, even if you're not keen on the cars.

Through the scaffolding of car racing, the old codger finds his state of grace, the car designer proves her detractors wrong, and the young buck learns to let go of ego primacy. 

Sweet. 

Now that's a movie with something to say. 

Weapons... has no discernible character arcs. None. Everyone is the same at the beginning as they are at the end.

Unless they're dead.

Frankly, I'm not sure being turned into a vegetable by a witch counts as a character arc.

If you're looking for jump scares, this isn't the movie for you. 

This is a classier kind of horror flick, not a slasher, and it's full of atmosphere and tension. All of that is fabulously well done.

It's unpleasant, but then, it is a horror movie. 

The actors are great, they sell their characters well, but none of them is very likeable or interesting. 

The villainess is properly nasty and menacing, but also shallow. She needed more depth to be really compelling.

Both movies are solid entertainment.