Guns Akimbo Movie Review

A Fun But Simple Flick

I saw Guns Akimbo a little bit ago with a buddy of mine and I have to say that this was a fun film. It wasn't complicated by any means, but it is fun.
Guns Akimbo follows Miles (Daniel Radcliffe) has a boring life. He lost his girlfriend, he has a jerk boss, and he seems to be going nowhere. But when one night he enters the chat of a deadly game online, he angers the games creators, and the decide he now has to play. They kidnap him and bolt guns to his hands, and tell him if he wants to live, he has to kill one of their top players, Nix (Samara Weaving). Miles is out of his league.
This isn't a complicated film by any means and if you want a fun action film which kinda acts as a video game film, Guns Akimbo is probably the right fit for you. For what it's worth, the acting was entertaining, the action had a good pace, and the director probably had a lot of fun making this.
Daniel Radcliffe has been making some interesting career choices since Harry Potter. Some are hits, others are misses. I think this will be one of his hits in the long run. He plays Miles very well and seems to grasp his character. His reactions were good, and he doesn't miss a beat. Samara Weaving looked like she had a grand old time in Guns Akimbo. It looked like she was having fun with her character more than anything, did a good job with it too.
The action had a quick pace and got my energy pumping and I think it did the same for my friend. There are some really satisfying gun fights, especially towards the end of the film. There are some unique style choices in these fights that elevate it to it's own realm.
The director, Jason Lei Howden, did an excellent job with this film. This comes off as a passion project for him as he is also the writer for the film as well. He is in his element here and I would like to see more of his work going further.
On the more negative side of things, the plot is a bit cliche and Guns Akimbo isn't story heavy. Which isn't inherently bad, but I think they could have expanded on there lore and character depth a little more than they did in Guns Akimbo.
The music and lighting were also both solid for this film. Since it has been a little bit since I saw the film, I can say the music hasn't stayed with me, but I do remember it working while I was watching the film. The lighting was perfectly balanced in just about every shot. The cinematography was also good. There are a few creative shots which looked like they were fun to shoot.
If you're looking for a fun action film to watch with your friends, then I'd recommend checking out Guns Akimbo. I could see this film gaining cult status for action fans, but we'll have to wait a few more years to see if that will come true. Overall, I had a lot of fun with this film and I'll probably check out Guns Akimbo again.


final score: 3.5/5