Gunpowder Milkshake
Gunpowder Milkshake is a super fun, female centric version of John Wick.
Sam (Karen Gillan) was abandoned by her mother Scarlet (Lena Headey) as a kid, left to be raised by her mother’s assassin colleagues Madeleine (Carla Gugino), Florence (Michelle Yeoh) and Anna (Angela Basset). Now, she works for The Firm, answering to Nathan (Paul Giamatti). When a hit goes wrong, however, Sam has to go on the run with a small child Emily (Chloe Coleman), coming under fire from those she thought were her friends, and now having to rely on her pseudo family (and indeed her real family) to survive a price on her head.
Directed by Navot Papushado, Gunpowder Milkshake is the sort of film where a cynical viewer would be disheartened by the similarities between this and so many other recent neon-soaked assassin films. But even the most cynical viewer will be won over by the end of this piece.
Karen Gillan is fantastic as the confident Sam, blending great fight choreography with one-liners, side eye and a general sense of power that is unbeatable. Headey is also great, a little bit more casual and funny than her on-screen daughter and bringing a definite sense of warmth to the piece. Then there are the librarians (Gugino, Yeoh and Basset) who are a really cool invention that helps level the film up and immediately define the world and it’s vibe.
From an action perspective, there’s lots to love here - the choreography, the slow motion, and the inventiveness are all A+. Highlights include a hilarious scene where Sam can’t use her arms while fighting three bad guys.
The only issues really stem from it’s familiarity. The story is relatively paint by numbers, as is the action. Particularly coming off a few years of great action films. There’s too much of John Wick here; too much of Atomic Blonde. It would have been a stronger film had there been something truly revolutionary and new and exciting here. Instead, what we get is a really good rehash of stuff we have largely seen before.
