Guns Akimbo Review (6/25/2020)

Daniel Radcliffe has had an interesting career in our post-Harry Potter world. Since becoming a household name in the world of cinema due to his central performance as J.K. Rowling's boy wizard, Radcliffe has retreated into the world of art and independent film, producing gradually more bizarre films such as 2013's Horns, 2016's Swiss Army Man, and now, 2020's Guns Akimbo. One more cynical than I might be inclined to suggest that he's grasping for straws more and more since Harry Potter ended, but I prefer another way of looking at it - he's gotten his fame and money and broke into the industry with Harry Potter, and is now looking to bring his talents to lesser known, more personal and niche projects.

I wanted to watch Guns Akimbo for a few reasons. First, I wanted to see just what Daniel Radcliffe has been up to, as I hadn't gotten around to seeing Horns or Swiss Army Man or anything else he's been in since Harry Potter ended. Second, I wanted to throw some money his way after his recent defense of transgender people against the bigotry of J.K. Rowling. Thirdly, this movie just looked so irresistably absurd - the promotional images of Radcliffe stumbling around down with guns attached to his hands wearing nothing but a bathrobe and underwear and fluffy slippers were too outlandish to pass up. I wasn't really expecting this movie to be good - and in all honestly it's not really - but I did end up having a more fun time than I anticipated.

The first half of Guns Akimbo is pretty weak. The film oozes a sense of half-baked edginess that seems to constantly want to bite at the viewer with no real point to it. If this isn't what you're looking for, it can be obnoxious and embarassing to watch. The protagonist, Miles (played by Radcliffe) is generally a loser, and the villains all look like coked up rejects from a Lost Highway knock-off. The plot, revolving around a nefarious organization called Skizm who broadcasts vicious fights to the death for entertainment forcing an unwitting Miles into the game is just silly, and it's filled with an overbearing reliance on senselessly chaotic camera movement and unnecessary video game affectations. The visual style of the film is really, really grating in the beginning, with bizarre and distracting camera moves such as a 360 degree vertical camera rotation that succeeds a bit too much at disorienting the viewer, and is used far too often to boot.

Something funny happened about halfway through, though. Up until that point, most of the movie is Radcliffe being thrown into increasingly dangerous and humiliating situations and having to come up with some ridiculous lie to get out of it or just straight up run away as fast as possible. It's rather reptitive and not super engaging, and the framing of a video stream online, with comments every now and then resembling the worst side of the internet being shown. Eventually, though, Radcliffe gets a pair of pants, loses the ridiculous look, and begins to fight back - and the film becomes a bit more interesting. The more obnoxious elements of the film's presentation are toned down, the action becomes more interesting and engaging, and the interplay between the characters more funny and likeable instead of just cringy. Perhaps it was a result of me turning my mind off and letting it happen, but the second half of the film was a lot more fun for me, with the annoying and edgy elements becoming just another part of the camp. Overall, it managed to scratch the itch I still have now and then for a well choreographed action-comedy tour-de-force, and I had a pretty fun time with it overall.

That's really what I can say about Guns Akimbo; it's a pretty fun time. It's not really good, and as I said before it's opening half is pretty weak, but it's also far from the worst way to spend a weekend night with your friends. There are most likely better non-Harry Potter Daniel Radcliffe movies out there, but it's worth supporting him anyway if you're a fan - he's pretty good here, and really helps to center the film as best he can. I think a lot of people will find the more obnoxious elements to be a total dealbreaker, and there are certainly plenty of flaws to be found, but in my eyes, it's a fairly harmless piece of entertainment.