Guns Akimbo (2019) User Reviews

When the s**t goes down, you better be ready.

[PanacheJosh · 7/10 · 3 March 2020]

People complaining about plot and and style clearly don't understand that there are different genres of movies. Obviously this isn't an Oscar contender but it's a great ride. Daniel Radcliffe continues to show his range as an actor by taking on roles that most A-listers wouldn't go near. His success as the boy who lived has given him the freedom to chose the roles he wants and to actually have fun making movies. Something that is very refreshing to see. Samara Weaving is brilliant and it's a joy to see her as the character Nix. She's gonna be huge in the next few years.

If you enjoy action movies, with outrageous violence, well choreographed fight scenes and over the top characters then you'll enjoy this film. It moves fast and doesn't take itself too serious. It's an easy watch, and slightly predictable. Although that's what you sign up for, and the movie makes you well aware of that.

Over the top, ridiculous, and entertaining

[umimelectric · 7/10 · 1 March 2020]

This is the kind of film you have to just put your mind on autopilot for and enjoy. The action and shootout scenes are very well done, with some sharp direction and editing. The story is a little too absurd and not based in reality whatsoever, but that's the point. It reminds me a bit of the movie Shoot 'Em Up, which was another tongue-in-cheek gun extravaganza, but fortunately Guns Akimbo is a lot funnier and more stylish, making it a pretty cool watch if you're not looking for anything mind-expanding.

Lots of GUNS

[dar0417 · 7/10 · 10 June 2020]

Non-stop action that is so unbelievable that you will ask yourself who thought this crap up. But it works well. Daniel Radcliffe play the innocent character to a tee and makes all the wrong choices perfectly. Worth the watch.

Might become a Cult Classic

[sahil-masrur786 · 7/10 · 29 February 2020]

This is film is in line with Deadpool, Kingsman, Kick-Ass. Plenty of gore, absolutely crazy and funny. The action scenes are well done (keeping in mind the budget is minimum). Daniel Radcliffe is likeable lead, Samara is becoming one of the reliable upcoming star. Do watch if you're a fan of those aforementioned films.

I have the power!

[grandmastersik · 7/10 · 20 April 2020]

If you loved the classic, Crank, give this a go. Damn, now I've over-hyped it.

Guns Akimbo is a cheap-looking, cheesy, pop-culture-quoting, ridiculously over-the-top relentless assault in the senses and that's what makes it so fun (or not, if you're one of the viewers who gave the film 2 stars).

fun for awhile

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 22 May 2020]

Slacker coder Miles Lee Harris (Daniel Radcliffe) is trying to get back with his ex Nova. He likes to troll other online trolls. He makes the wrong enemy in Skizm, an underground killing-for-entertainment society. They follow their leader Riktor in breaking into his apartment and knocking him out. He wakes up with two guns bolted to his hands. He receives texts telling him that he has 24 hours to kill expert player Nix (Samara Weaving).

The premise is fun but it can get repetitive and tiresome. It reminds me a lot of Crank which is a bit better than this. Radcliffe has this adorable personality which keeps the movie going for the first half. At some point, the concept wears thin and the movie loses the thread. I'm not sure if it's Nix's convoluted story or the unrelenting action grind. It stops mattering. So it's fun for a good while and then it's not.

Well I, for one, loved this movie!

[Fujiko-san · 7/10 · 13 June 2020]

I loved it and so did the two people I watched it with.

Yes, the movie is super violent. Yes, the violence is gratuitous. Yes, it is funny, but the humor is pretty NZ. (I actually laughed at one liners!!! Those that know me, know this is not my M.O.)

This movie is smart and silly and cliche in all the right ways. The camera work is crazy fast and a little nauseating at times, but you have to admire the creativity and sheer manic dedication. We all particularly loved the video game flourishes.

In fact, visually the movie is excellent, and we all agreed that the production value is off the chain. (Good work, everyone!) Acting is also excellent.

My personal favorite: the script is pretty tight- especially for a shoot 'em up, action film like this. It is fast and you have to pay attention. The writing doesn't spoon feed you anything, you have to keep up. Is the story ridiculous? YES! Does it follow some sort of logic? Yes again! I wasn't going to review this film until I saw all of the negative reviews which are frankly unmerited. I think a lot of people are put off by the female bad ass who shows no tit, does not fall in love, and remains a bad ass to the end. Yay sexism!

Switch off your brain and enjoy some mindless fun

[DeadMansTrousers · 8/10 · 29 February 2020]

The negative reviews for this movie are hilarious. Are you expecting Shakespearean grade storytelling from a movie whose main character has guns bolted to his hands? This is meant to be pure entertainment and it delivers balls to the wall action mixed with over the top humour. I was genuinely entertained while watching this and I'm glad I decided to ignore the negativity surrounding it. It's best to just suspend belief and enjoy this film for what it is.

Flawed and Nearly Aimless but Fun Eye Candy

[TwistedContent · 7/10 · 28 February 2020]

"Guns Akimbo" or, in other words, Jason Lei Howden's millennial, culturally relevant in 2019 spiritual relative of "Crank". Jokes (and Howden's twitter mess) aside, "Guns Akimbo" provides some real fun, mostly in terms of action and other visual treats, with Radcliffe and Weaving adding bonus points. Other than that, it's flawed enough.

"Guns Akimbo" introduces us to a world much like ours plus "Schism", which we, thankfully, don't have as of yet. The hero, or, in simple terms, a loser (un)intentionally steps on Schism's admin's toes and now has been pitted against the champion Nix with revolvers bolted to his hands. What follows is nearly 90 minutes of action - chases, gunfights, racing, explosions and so on and so forth. It's undeniably entertaining visually and is supported by creative and dynamic camerawork, vivid and explosive color grading and crafty editing that's reaching over the line of overkill at times. Rest assured that violence gets provided in satisfactory amounts. There's so much action that compensates for the lack of some other elements & eventually "Guns Akimbo" can turn out mind-numbing for some. Radcliffe and Weaving are definitely having fun, offer up playful performances and some hit&miss one-liners. The comedy in "Guns Akimbo" is indeed of the hit&miss nature, perhaps maybe even more on the miss side. Jason Lei Howden has tried to insert social commentary, talk about our generation's thirst for blood and utter necessity to feel better at all times, the awful mess that internet is, but that all finishes its run in like the first 1/3 of the movie. Point being, "Guns Akimbo" essence and point is mostly just high entertainment value. And it's good in those terms. Besides our two shining leads, Ned Dennehy also adds some fun, being maybe a little too comicky, but eccentric and pleasantly insane villain.

"Guns Akimbo" is a top tier action flick, top notch indie eye candy & an absolute blast for the hero of the day, Daniel Radcliffe. Past all that, it's just an okay movie. If you need some fast-paced, no-brakes, easy-on-the-brain fun, this goes out as recommendation especially for You. My rating: 7/10.

Exuberant, outrageous, and surprisingly dull

[a_chinn · 5/10 · 12 November 2021]

Harry Potter finds himself with guns bolted to his hands and forced to fight for his life in an underground death match broadcast for an online audience of millions. The action and comedy are over-the-top, stylish, but surprisingly dull after the first few shootouts. All the noise and fury is numbing after a while and felt simply repetitions and boring. The best action flicks pace the action scenes so each subsequent action sequence is bigger and better than the last. That was always the downfall of the first "Blade" film, where the opening sequence was by far the best action set piece of the film and everything else that followed paled in comparison. Still, Daniel Radcliff is good in the lead and provides the best moments outside of the noise and fury, such as when he's trying to put on his pants with guns bolted to his hands or simply trying to open a door. More focus on comedy and character development would have helped this film greatly. Overall it's not terrible, but it could have been a whole lot better.

Firing in all directions

[boyar-jedi · 8/10 · 17 February 2020]

Daniel Radcliffe is no longer just the guy who starred in Harry Potter. To prove that he is a real actor and not a creature of one character, Radcliffe has continued to risk it all in a wide variety of his artistic experiments. He is ready to appear naked on stage in a potentially perilous performance, he then went with a movie crew to film in an actual jungle and he now plays in a movie where the plot goes non-stop and there can be no respite from action at all.

The main character of the movie is an unfortunate reclusive video game developer who never parts with a cup of coffee and tends to spend his weekends at home wearing a dirty robe. However, one day, everything changes when Miles is pulled out and forced to become a member of a dangerous game called "SKIZM". The purpose of the event seems simple, but that is a dangerous misconception. Homicidal lunatics are running the streets and firing at each other. Viewers pay money to watch this event, its sadistic organizers are pleased by its chaos. It is only the participants who can never feel safe.

This is really crazy but a totally enthralling experience. The movie is really interesting and holds viewers in complete suspense. You just sit and keep an eye on Radcliffe, who had transformed for this role and does not even look like himself. His hero, Miles, is a typical nonstarter, but at the same time he has the kind of luck most people can only dream of in real life. All this may be fantastic, but it is fun and smashing from beginning to end.

The verdict: You have to go and watch this movie; because it is not often that you will feel this much adrenaline! I definitely want to view Guns Akimbo one more time!

Good fun, for those with appetite for this sort of things

[harry_tk_yung · 16 June 2020]

If I had not seen Daniel Radcliffe recently as a corpse, one, mind you, that refuses to shut up ("Swiss Army Man"), I would have thought his character, Miles, in "Guns Akimbo" weird. Miles has the hall mark of an ordinary nobody until something strange happens to him. At work, he is a galley slave in a software development outfit, wasting away at mundane coding. At home, his only friend is the Internet. Oh, he has an ex-girlfriend Nova (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) and they are still on friendly terms.

In his Internet world, there is universe called Skizm, which involves the real world. What Skizm does, under the mastermind of a villain called Riktor (Ned Dennehy), is to arrange one-on-one, end-in-death face offs between shady characters. The deadly activities are monitored by drones and streamed live online, with viewership in the millions. The ranking champion is Nix (Samara Weaving), a totally badass young women with unmatched talents for slaughter.

Somehow, Riktor's gang breaks into Miles's humble abode and knocks him out. When he wakes up, he finds that each of his hands has been fastened to a handgun. While becoming a deadly weapon himself, Miles now is in the predicament of needing help in simple things such as dressing himself. The only way to get out of this is to track down and kill Nix before she kills him. When he tries to hid, Riktor has Nova kidnapped to force his hand, eh, his gun, I mean. So much for the plot.

The moviemakers and actors have done a decent job in getting silly, gory, outrageous fun out of the material, for people with appetite for that sort of thing. As well, there is more story to the plot than what I described.

Great Fun, Great Soundtrack

[rdsear · 7/10 · 1 March 2020]

Fun ride, good shootem up movie, with a great soundtrack.

4

[Edvis-1997 · 4/10 · 13 June 2020]

Sorry but why this movie is so overrated? Like come on... Acting was pretty bad from everyone in the cast. Plot was one huge misunderstanding... So many plot jumps and mistakes it was really very hard to watch because it's so cringe and annoying. Half of audience from cinema didn't even watch whole film they left in the middle. I can't even say anything good about it, it was too blank for me.

Bloody, savage and entertaining.

[yogeshevolution · 7/10 · 4 March 2020]

The movie is full on entertainer with action, blood and yes the rocking music🤘. The story is simple and pacy . Really enjoyable and samara rocks so does danny. Full on popcorn movie.

Don't Bring A Spork To A Gunfight!

[nebk · 7/10 · 28 February 2020]

Part comedy part action, Guns Akimbo is an action rollercoaster that blends cartoonish violence, humor and some social commentary of modern society. A computer programmer called Miles played by Daniel Radcliffe finds himself in a deadly competition streamed online. He wakes up with guns bolted to his hands and has to kill the reigning champion Nix (Samara Weaving) and save his ex girlfriend from Skizm, the criminal organisation that forced him into the game.

The positives of this movie are Daniel Radcliffe as the clueless Miles and Samara Weaving as the dopped up sociopathic killer trying to eleminate him. Some of the action scenes are well done but overall the violence does gets very cartoonish and unbelievable. The movie is way too unrealistic and tries to offer social commentary about how people are glued to their mobile devices and desensitized to extreme violence. The humor is also hit and miss at times and the levels of violence will not appeal to everyone. If you think of movies like Crank and Shoot Em Up you will get an idea of what kind of movie to expect.

Worth a watch with suspension of disbelief but not to be taken very seriously.

Good fun

[mikeklement · 7/10 · 29 February 2020]

This kind of reminds me of Hardcore Henry minus the first person views. It's fun action that you can't take serious, there are some funny parts and it never feels slow or boring. Worth watching

huge entertainment value

[mjfhhh · 7/10 · 24 March 2020]

Miles is living a mindless life, stuck in a work-home-drink routine when a trio of brutes breaks into his house and knocks him out cold. When Miles wakes up he's got the flesh of his hands moulded on to real guns and he is forced into participating in an online death game. Distraught and disoriented he has to fight for his life, which means he has to take on the evil people who forced him into this predicament in the first place.

Jason Lei Howden has made a career creating visual effects for big productions such as War For The Planet Of The Apes and Avengers. GUNS AKIMBO is his second feature, a gun violence heavy action movie with tons of low grade humour that hits the mark more often than not.

GUNS AKIMBO is not to be taken seriously, the visuals are over the top, nasty but never quite realistic. All the car chases and the shootouts are designed to amuse rather than inspire awe. Yes with all its visual effects heaviness GUNS AKIMBO is a very small film, rather a satire on modern social media and a tribute to such classics as RUNNING MAN.

For what it is GUNS AKIMBO works pretty well. It has a huge entertainment value, memorable characters and enough humour to get a cult status. It definitely has a unique voice and I cannot wait to see what this director will do next.

Not a bad cyberpunk movie.

[undagclaire · 9/10 · 12 July 2020]

I was entertained. It helped that it was funny not just action packed.

It's not Parasite you know!

[wcorrigan67 · 7/10 · 1 March 2020]

Ok let's get this straight this isn't going to win an Oscar. But it's a bloody (watch the movie and this pun will work) good movie. I enjoyed it a lot Radcliffe can't do a great American accent. But you can't help but like the guy. Switch your brain off, don't look for a message. Just enjoy.

It was just too idiotic to keep me watching...

[etann-36707 · 3/10 · 30 July 2022]

Interesting premise, but I just couldn't buy into it, it was a "save the princess" story-line and I got to a point where I couldn't care less whether or not he succeeded in his quest, I'll assume he does, but wouldn't have been surprised if he didn't just to be edgy and offer a surprise ending. I got to a point where I was like, yep you got me for long enough, this is just action packed nonsense for the attention deficit crowd. It was so so so satisfying shutting it off, it was like I won the game. I secretly felt that if you watch this all the way through, you lost the game, and the more time you watched the more points you lost. I only envy those who shut if off sooner, you are the champions.

All this movie reinforced in me was that "Idiocracy" wasn't a film, it was prophecy.

Gamer + Suicide Squad = mindless fun entertainment with stunning visuals

[Top_Dawg_Critic · 8/10 · 29 February 2020]

This is VFX pro Jason Lei Howden's 2nd full length feature film as newb writer and director, and he delivered. Think Gamer meets Suicide Squad and you end up with mindless fun entertainment with stunning visuals, and I do mean stunning. The story was fun and the directing on point with excellent cinematography and VFX. I was pleasantly surprised that Daniel Radcliffe pulled off his character extremely well. For that matter, all cast performances were great. The score was very fitting and the 95 min runtime and pacing were just right. Sad to see the undeserving low ratings, this film has great qualities - especially considering it's from a new filmmaker, and it was really fun and funny! A well deserving 9/10 from me

My kind of movie

[FeastMode · 7/10 · 1 January 2022]

I had a smile on my face for the majority of the movie. I went in with no expectations. I was given something I didn't even know I wanted. I love the style and music. Samara Weaving is such a beast and Daniel Radcliff definitely belongs.

My only real flaw with this movie is the villain. I love that the whole movie is over-the-top, but the villain takes it into cartoon territory.

I was really surprised this wasn't bigger until I realized it was destroyed by the pandemic. I hope they see what they have here and ignore the poor numbers. I would definitely watch any sequels.

1 viewing, 12-31-2021.

Tragically unfunny......

[s3276169 · 3/10 · 29 February 2020]

Its really a quest these days to find anything worth watching. Trashy, cyber punk, anime mash up mess "Guns Akimbo", underlines this point.

It tries far, far too hard. Its characterisations are encrusted with unfunny cliches, as is its all too predictable story line. The inclination to lecture whilst offering scraps of entertainment is ever present too. This time its the evils of the internet, which seems to be populated by hordes of trolls, perverts and pyscho killers. "Yawn".

Seriously uninspiring. 3/10.

Stupid Fun!

[sfarrelardan · 6/10 · 11 March 2020]

Guns Akimbo is a movie where you could just sit back and enjoy some stupid fun. At first I thought this movie would just be another cringe fest; just another movie trying to be edgy and appeal to the internet people. But to be fair, it was not as cringe inducing as I thought it would be. There are definitely some spots that are quite a bit corny, but I suppose that is intentional. But apart from that, I was completely delighted with what I saw. The editing and cinematography in this movie is definitely spot on! They completely complement the hyper-action very well and I especially like the aesthetics that they showcase. The gun fight scenes were also a treat! Especially in the first half of the movie. These scenes really remind me about the Hotline Miami games and I wonder how cool it would be if a movie was made based on them.

Unfortunately though, as creative as the gun scenes were, I feel like the movie played its cards way too early. All the interesting fight scenes happen in the first half of the movie. And for the rest of the movie, they seem to have ran out of ideas on how to go about choreographing the remaining gun fights. The movie ends with a rooftop fight that really pales in comparison to the other shootouts. By the end, I felt that the pacing had turned out to be slow and it really killed the momentum for me. Luckily the director knows when to stop, so I believe that this should not be too much of an issue, considering its 1h 35m run time. Overall, decent movie!