Guns Akimbo
/“Never bring a spork to a gunfight.”
Filmology Rating: 3 out of 4
Gun Akimbo is the one-hundred and eighty thousandth film to glorify violence, but one that nobody is upset about because it's not a stupid comic book movie.
It stars Daniel Radcliffe as a dungeon-dwelling internet troll named Miles who has no life and his only amusement births from writing crude comments to enrage people. However, in this world exists Skizm -- an underground television show that pins two people against each other to fight to the death. This televised broadcast is watched by millions because society is dumb. Miles is kidnapped and forced to fight for Skizm.
Ever since Daniel Radcliffe wrapped up the 'Harry Potter' franchise, he has dived deep into weird independent films such as 'Swiss Army Man' and 'Guns Akimbo' is no exception.
The wonderful aspect about this film is that it's very crude, obnoxious and punk. While those elements are usually the noose of any other film, 'Guns Akimbo' uses those elements to satirize modern audiences and their watch preferences.
This film is reminiscent of 'The Running Man', 'The Truman Show' and fractions of 'Robocop' in that this film exists in a world where the least intelligent of people decide the dominant form of televised programming. Which in 'Guns Akimbo', is people being tasked with murdering each other and people on their phones and tablets tune in 24/7 to cheer on their favorite murderer.
The style of the film itself heavily leans into its video game inspirations. It's very fun to do whatever you want in a video game and participate in all kinds of violence, but 'Guns Akimbo' takes the video game concept and places that setting into the modern day. The score itself is very reminiscent of old Nintendo sounds and the added graphics represent those of a video game screen that may display a health bar or the amount of ammunition remaining.
The cinematography very much reflects the style of a music video. This film is so frenetic that a rhythm must be set to the film to avoid pacing issues. Even the unbroken camera movement during action reflects that of dance choreography in a music video.
Daniel Radcliffe brings a lot of energy to this role and makes the film as fun as it could possibly be. His character goes through this extensive narrative arc where he starts as the typical basement dweller, keyboard troll and wakes up one day to find that two 1911 pistols have been bolted to his hands. Throughout this harsh transition, he goes from a passive character to one that takes action by the end.
And because he now has guns for hands, there is this running joke of Miles not being capable of doing everyday things we take for granted like going to the bathroom, opening a door, putting clothes on, eating, or texting. It leant to many side-splitting moments.
The film itself is a crazed rollercoaster of fun, but it has its issues. One of which is that its very blunt. The satire is a bit too on-the-nose as it's sometimes reiterated through voice over.
The villain is also the evil tattoo, biker-guy stereotype. He also does very little other than sit in a control room and direct the live broadcast of people killing each other. He uses drones to film the event. His goal is to expand Skism to the point of being "The Starbucks of Murder." Which is a lovely tagline for your murder tv show.
However, the film itself is very quick and loads of satirical fun that pokes at where television is headed (The Masked Singer, etc). There is sequel bait that I whole-heartedly welcome. Good/weird/creative movies are rarely in cinemas anymore. They're being made by low-budget, independent filmmakers. You just have to search for them.
Rating: See It
-Nolan