I instantly became a fan of writer/director Jason Lei Howden upon seeing his feature-length debut, Deathgasm. The New Zealand native then spent most of the next three years working in the visual effects departments for various blockbuster productions. He finally returns to helming his own work with this month’s Guns Akimbo. A frenetic action-comedy that mostly hangs together, Howden is again aiming at cult film fans, though this sophomore effort has slightly more mainstream appeal due to starring Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe.
Miles (a harried and disheveled Radcliffe) is a timid, underachieving videogame programmer by day. Bullied by his broheem boss and disrespected by his colleagues, the young man spends his nights enthusiastically battling with Internet trolls. Miles soon targets the fans and producers of Skizm, an enormously popular illegal online underground series that broadcasts real-life death matches between murderously unhinged opponents. Skizm’s admins take notice of Miles after he drunkenly does his best to provoke them. The following morning, the sadistic Riktor (Ned Dennehy) and his demented Skizm lieutenants show up at Miles’ apartment and forcibly attach pistols to his hands via makeshift surgery. The former couch potato now finds himself to be the next target of Nix (Samara Weaving, clearly enjoying herself), Skizm’s flamboyant champion killer. Jeered at by Skizm’s substantial online audience, Miles tries to stay alive while also struggling to not shoot himself while performing mundane tasks like eating or taking a piss. Important subplots include Miles’ ex-girlfriend Nova (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) getting caught in the crossfire as well as Nix’s tragic past.
Radcliffe brings some naturalistic warmth to the comicbook-y premise. His Miles is a lovable loser that you can’t help but cheer for. Weaving, whom I loved in the recent Ready or Not, is the perfect foil as the gleeful assassin Nix. Together, they provide the strongest character work in the piece. Another big plus is the look of the film. Grimy city streets collide with Skizm’s propensity for fluorescent aesthetics to present a visually engaging experience. Throw in numerous explosions, frantic editing, and slow-motion shots and you have a pretty slick atmosphere. There’s a certain videogame-esque feel evoked by the onscreen tracking of Miles’ remaining bullets, as well. Action sequences are thrilling and often funny, contrasting Miles’ blundering and Nix’s expertise. A detour involving an eccentric hobo is perhaps my favorite comedic scene, though. Enis Rotthof’s electronic score is effective and works best when calling back to old 8-bit videogame music.
This brings me to my first criticism, though. The soundtrack is littered with heavy and edgy cringeworthy covers of older songs. I wonder if this was merely a budget or licensing issue, though, as they deploy the original version of Cypress Hill’s “When the Shit Goes Down” to great effect. I also think the script could’ve used one more pass as some of the plot turns are a little wobbly and the subtext about toxic online culture is a little thin. My issues didn’t derail the experience, but they’re not insubstantial. Ultimately, though, I still found the overall effort to be quite entertaining.
Jason Lei Howden’s Guns Akimbo is relentlessly paced at 95 minutes, offering up sleek visuals, nearly nonstop violence, and a few genuine belly laughs. It doesn’t come together quite as completely as I’d like, but it’s still a whole lot of fun. Daniel Radcliffe continues his streak of taking on interesting post Harry Potter projects and Howden has impressed me with both of his directorial efforts, keying in on quirky cult film notes with a distinctive voice. Recommended for fans of Shoot ‘Em Up, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, and the John Wick series.
Michael Cavender