Guns Akimbo

Much like the video games from which Guns Akimbo is unmistakably inspired, this action-packed comedy flick is a heart-racing affair throughout.

Daniel Radcliffe plays Miles, a stereotypical gamer who lives alone in his action-figured-adorned apartment. Miles deals with an obviously traumatic split from his girlfriend Nova (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) and being bullied by his overly macho boss at work by spending his evening ‘trolling the trolls’ of the internet. One evening while sparring with a viewer of Skizm, a live online murder gameshow, Miles messes with the wrong person. Subsequently Miles is drafted into Skizm as the next combatant for its current champion, Nix (Samara Weaving).

The action sequences of Guns Akimbo are something to behold, and would easily fit with the blockbuster moments of modern video games. This connection is heightened through the use of flashy neon graphic overlays – health bars, character names, ammo capacity, text messages, etc – making the film feel like a video game or comic brought to life.

To help break up the action set pieces slightly, the film uses lots of cheesy comedic lines and humour. Miles, for example, ends up with two guns bolted to his hands, essentially rendering them useless for any other use and causing many a clumsy or comedic moment (most notably when he’s using the toilet).

Guns Akimbo is a non-stop, hyper-violent cat-and-mouse game of a movie that offers an enjoyable, albeit superficial, experience for the viewer.

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