Guns Akimbo

Directed by Jason Lei Howden, Guns Akimbo follows Daniel Radcliffe’s Miles as he provokes the ire of a vicious band of underground fighters and is subsequently forced to battle Samara Weaving’s Nix to the death – with the situation complicated by the handguns that have been fused to Miles’ hands. It’s a decidedly over-the-top premise that’s employed to exceedingly (and, mostly, excessively) frenetic effect by Howden, as the movie suffers from an all-style-no-substance feel that does, generally speaking, prevent the viewer from connecting to the central character’s plight – which is a shame, certainly, given that Radcliffe manages to turn in a typically strong performance (that belongs in a better picture). There’s little doubt, then, that Guns Akimbo‘s somewhat tolerable atmosphere is due to its smattering inclusion of admittedly compelling sequences, with, especially, the film’s climax succeeding as both a sendup of action-movie cliches and a genuinely exciting resolution to the characters’ exploits – which finally cements the whole thing’s place as a woefully erratic piece of work that could’ve used some smaller, quieter moments sprinkled throughout its running time.

** out of ****