Action movie Guns Akimbo has been give an R-rating by the MPAA, citing “strong bloody violence throughout, pervasive language, drug use, sexual references, and brief graphic nudity.” Hell! Yes!
Last week we were treated to a pair of gloriously over the top trailers, introducing via excessive gunplay and lurid neon the story of Miles, a loser who trolls the wrong comments section and is attacked in his apartment, awakening with guns bolted to his hands to participate in a contest of live-streamed death matches. The trailers promised that the film would embrace the full-on excess of its demented premise, and the rating confirms it has done exactly that.
Of the promised good stuff, we’ve so far seen explosions, a lot of shooting and some swearing, with drug use being suggested at the point where Samara Weaving’s Nyx is shown with a rolled up banknote hanging out her nostril that most probably indicates her having snorted a line of coke prior to kicking Miles’ door open, and is so inured to the prospect of constant killing that she can’t even be bothered to pull it out before launching her assault.
The rating comes as something of a relief, as the objectionable content of many action movies is deliberately neutered in order to secure a PG-13, thus widening the potential audience of the movie to increase its box office revenue at the expense of creative integrity. However, with Guns Akimbo having such relentless frenzy being channeled through its every moment, anything other than full-on excess would likely leave viewers feeling cheated.
The only other territory from which Guns Akimbo has received a rating, its native New Zealand, saw it designated R16, which limits its viewing to people aged 16 or over, the country’s second-most restrictive rating below R18. It can only be assumed that other nations will soon follow suit.