Daniel Radcliffe plays Miles, a computer programmer who gets two guns bolted to his hands and forced into a live-streamed death match against Samara Weaving’s Nix. That pitch sounds like a joke, and Jason Lei Howden’s directorial debut treats it like one — but the execution doesn’t land.
Trailer, via Madman Films.
Guns Bolted to the Hands
The premise is pure exploitation. Miles gets hooked up to two guns that fire automatically whenever he moves his hands. The idea is that he has to fight to stay alive, and the guns are both his weapon and his punishment. It’s a simple mechanical gag, and it works visually — Radcliffe sells the absurdity of a man suddenly firing pistols at will.
But the setup is thin. Miles gets hooked up to the guns, then he’s thrown into a ring to fight Nix. The movie doesn’t spend much time explaining why Skizm exists, why Miles is targeted, or what the stakes are beyond survival. The whole thing feels like a premise stretched across 98 minutes without enough substance to support it.
Nix and the Fight Club
Weaving plays Nix as the deadliest killer in the game, and she’s clearly built for the role. Her performance is physical and committed, and she brings a cold, efficient menace to the part. She wants out of the games, but Riktor requires she kill Miles first. That tension is the film’s best thread, even if the script doesn’t develop it fully.
Nix also tracks Miles through his phone, which leads to a chase scene where she guns down thugs while pursuing him. These sequences are kinetic and well-choreographed, but they’re also hollow. The violence is cartoonish, and the film never commits to the stakes of what’s happening on screen.
Miles and the Rest of the Cast
Radcliffe carries the film. He plays Miles as an ordinary guy thrust into extraordinary circumstances, and he grounds the material with a sense of genuine fear and confusion. The supporting cast is solid, though the film doesn’t give them much to do beyond fill out the world.
Grant Bowler plays Degraves, the detective who tries to help Miles. Edwin Wright plays Stanton, his partner who hacks phones. Rhys Darby plays Glenjamin, Miles’ friend at work. None of these characters get developed beyond their functions, which limits the emotional weight of the story.
The World Around Miles
The film is set in an alternative near future where an underground fight club has become massively popular by live-streaming real death matches. Skizm is run by Riktor, played by Ned Dennehy, with his henchmen Dane, Effie and Fuckface. The world is gritty and neon-lit, but the film spends little time exploring it beyond the surface.
The chase through the park, the office confrontation, and the accidental interruption of a drug deal between rival gangs — these are the beats that make up the runtime. They’re competently staged, but they feel like filler between the moments where the guns themselves are the focus.
What Works and What Doesn’t
The film’s strengths are visual and mechanical. The guns bolted to Miles’ hands are a memorable image, and the action sequences are energetic. The film knows how to stage a fight and how to keep the camera moving during a chase. Where it falters is in the writing and the direction.
Howden directs with confidence, but the material underneath is weak. The script relies too heavily on spectacle and not enough on character or story. The film’s attempts at comedy fall flat, and the thriller elements don’t build to anything meaningful. The result is a film that’s entertaining in brief stretches but ultimately unsatisfying.
- The guns bolted to Miles’ hands are the film’s strongest element.
- Samara Weaving delivers a committed performance as Nix.
- Daniel Radcliffe grounds the material with genuine fear and confusion.
- The world-building is thin and mostly superficial.
- The comedy doesn’t land, and the thriller elements don’t pay off.
A Premise Worth More
“Guns Akimbo” has a great premise and a competent execution. It just doesn’t commit to either. The premise deserves a sharper script and a more confident director. As it stands, it’s a film that’s fun to watch for a few minutes and frustrating to sit through for 98.
The film premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in the United States on 28 February 2020 by Saban Films. It became available digitally on-demand less than three weeks after release due to the COVID-19 pandemic closing theatres worldwide.
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