Overview
Imagine that you had become an international superstar playing Harry Potter, then spent more than a decade as the beloved character in one of the biggest movie franchises there is. Once your wizarding time was over, you'd probably want to take on a whole range of weird, wonderful and vastly different projects. Daniel Radcliffe, the only person who fits the above description, certainly seems to be following that path — and his latest action-comedy might just be the wildest entry on his post-Boy Who Lived resume so far.
Since the HP films wrapped up back in 2011, Radcliffe has played a man who wakes up with horns protruding from his head in the aptly titled Horns, as well as Victor Frankenstein's apprentice Igor in the terrible movie that's conveniently named Victor Frankenstein. He also transforms into a corpse in Swiss Army Man — a corpse whose farts make it skim across the ocean like a jet ski. And, in the first season of great TV sitcom Miracle Workers, he's an angel trying to save the world from a slacker God (Steve Buscemi).
Next, though, Radcliffe is stepping into the shoes of a snarky video game developer — one who is forced into a real-life fight-to-the-death game. His ordeal is also being live-streamed as part of an illegal death-match fight club channel called Skizm. Oh, and he has guns bolted to his hands.
That's the premise of Guns Akimbo, which seems to combine elements of Battle Royale, Man of Tai Chi, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Nerve into one clearly, gleefully over-the-top package. As seen in the movie's just-dropped new trailer, Radcliffe's character, Miles, has to try to survive when he's thrust into the city-wide game — and navigate a world where brutal gladiator-style fights have become mass entertainment.
The film also stars Ready or Not's Samara Weaving and Flight of the Conchords' Rhys Darby, with New Zealand filmmaker Jason Lei Howden (Deathgasm) behind the lens.
Check out the trailer below:
Guns Akimbo will start screening around Australia on February 28 at special event screenings.