Guns Akimbo

I remember one of the first time when i really fell in love with a film. It was in the year of 1993 when director John Woo released his first American action film, known as Hard Target. For those of you who don´t know who John Woo is, he have directed several fantastic Hong Kong action films such as The Killer and Hard Boiled. What made his first American action film so wonderful, was to see Jean-Claude Van Damme in a very different action film from his previous films. The violence was so over the top, with 6570 bullets flying through the air within 15 minutes, and special kicks done so many times, that it became like the most beautiful ballet show you have ever seen. Van Damme delivered a really good performance as Chance Bordeaux, who fight against a group of ruthless businessmen who arrange hunting homeless people as a sport, with the intention of killing the chosen one. Hard Target is an absolute action delight with more violence than you could imagine. I would have to say that this is the perfect film to show at a wedding, because nothing saves marriages more than Hard Target does, and trust me ladies, nothing will turn you on more than seeing Van Damme with his mullet redneck hair. Have some of you seen the techno thriller Nerve, released in 2016 ? Directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, this film actually managed to combine a clever story of how to play a game with million of watchers online to the game Nerve. The idea behind the game is that you must do what the game tells you what do to, no matter how dangerous the mission is. Actress Emma Roberts as the character Vee, was a really good choice for this film. Imagine if you would combine Hard Target, Death Race with Jason Statham and Nerve, what would you get ? It is possible that it would be this film called Guns Akimbo, a film that looks like one insane ride with both technology and gaming influences. I have only seen a trailer of this film quite long ago, but it looked like fun. With a great cast and an interesting concept for a story, is this the action feast we have all been waiting for, or is Guns Akimbo as bad as Max Steel was, the sci fi action film i would love to forget about ?

In an alternate near future, an underground fight club and criminal organization known as Skizm achieved massive popularity by live-streaming real death matches between criminals and psychos. Ordinary computer programmer Miles Lee Harris ( Daniel Radcliffe ), who gets his kick by trolling online trolls, log into Skizm´s forum to insult viewers who turn murder into entertainment. Riktor ( Ned Dennehy ), the criminal kingpin and psychopath who runs Skizm, breaks into Miles appartment with the henchmen Dane ( Mark Rowley ), Effie ( Racheal Ofori ) and Fuckface ( Set Sjöstrand ). After being beaten and drugged, Miles wakes up to find guns bloodily bolted into his both hands. Miles learns that he has been forced to participate in Skizm by being pitted against Nix ( Samara Weaving ), the game´s deadliest and craziest killer. Nix wants out of Skizm, but not until she finish her last opponent, Miles. This day may have started really bad for Miles, and it´s just about to get even worse.

If you have missed a film that would bring Hard Target into a more modern world, then Guns Akimbo might be the film you have been looking for. This film is filled with shootings, violence, and game influences, that you will be cheering for yourself for quite some time in your living room. It almost feels like this film has been inspired by Hard Target, since you see the actual film playing on a TV screen in the appartment of lead character Miles, played by English actor Daniel Radcliffe. It is nice to see Harry Potter actor Radcliffe do a completely different movie than we are used to see him in. He have done a lot of different kinds of films over the years, since Harry Potter. But i will say that this is the first time i see him do an action comedy like this with much more violence. I have to say that Radcliffe handle his performance well and becomes something of a nerd hero, who clearly don´t feel comfortable having 2 guns drilled into his hands ( must be hard to have something to eat ). Australian actress Samara Weaving ( who is really good in the horror comedy Ready Or Not ) plays the bad ass character Nix, the woman you want to take on a date, and i guarantee you will have a great time. She loves big guns, kicking ass and explosions as well, so this is the perfect example of how a great date should look like. Samara manage to balance her character with a great sense of humour, and also make her look very rough, and i love her sexy look as well. Actor Ned Dennehy as the insane character Riktor, is the perfect mix of Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior character Wez and Bullseye in the Daredevil film from 2003. Director Rhys Darby have found a way to combine video game influences with a pure action feast, in a very good looking way that we are not used to see these days.  If you love video games, and Jean-Claude Van Damme´s classic Hard Target, then you are going to have a hell of a good time with Guns Akimbo. Pick up a DVD or Blu Ray of this film, and you can´t get a better pocorn night than this at home. 

Rating: DDDD