Gunpowder Milkshake

Starring: Karen Gillan, Lena Headey, Chloe Coleman, Carla Gugino, Michelle Yeoh, Angela Bassett, Joanna Bobin, Freya Allan, Paul Giamatti, Ralph Ineson, Ed Birch, Adam Nagaitis
Directed by: Navot Papushado
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
2021

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An assassin (Karen Gillan) risks the ire of her employers when she rescues a young girl (Chloe Coleman).

Review:

Tim: I enjoyed Gunpowder Milkshake. The movie couldn't ever quite shake off the sense that it was copying far better films, but it did manage to be fairly entertaining in its own right. The film does have some flaws, which prevent it from being as effective as it could have been. That said, I still had fun with the movie and would recommend it.

The film attempts to bring us into this world of assassins. It feels similar to what was established in John Wick, but it isn't nearly as memorable or effective at world building. The details of the larger picture feel fuzzy and not especially relevant to the plot. The movie takes a halfhearted approach to this. Whereas John Wick took great pains to establish The Continental and that whole world, this movie seems like it does it out of obligation, ostensibly to set up potential future sequels. There's never any real love or interest in these broader topics. The Firm isn't nearly as interesting as it needs to be. It all comes across as generic as that name and equally as forgettable. Even worse, none of it really matters to the plot of this film. It's basically the obvious good guys vs. the obvious bad guys and everything else just feels like unnecessary details. That hurts the movie for sure.

What helps the movie is a general level of fun that pervades the story. The movie never takes itself too seriously and it throws bright colors, ridiculous situations, and a few humorous lines of dialogue at us. If you're willing to not think too deeply and just let the movie carry you away, it can be pretty fun. That being said, while it makes this a good movie, that acts as a barrier to anything else. It ultimately makes the movie enjoyable yet too lightweight to really matter.

Karen Gillan is well cast in the lead. She plays the role well, even though she never truly makes the character standout. The most noteworthy thing about Sam is that she has a cool, retro outfit. Other than that, she's your typical assassin with a great of gold (she's a woman, though, which is at least somewhat unique in the world of assassin movies). Lena Headey has fun playing her mother. Her character feels a bit forced, which impacts the performance, but she's still enjoyable to watch. Headey and Gillan work well together. I really loved the casting of Michelle Yeoh, Carla Gugino, and Angela Bassett. Their characters don't quite get the justice they deserve, but they add a lot of charisma and excitement to the film. Yeoh gives an impressive physical performance. Gugino gets to make the biggest emotional impact. Bassett gives a good performance, but it felt like her character was a bit shortchanged. It was nice seeing Chloe Coleman here, too. I'm not convinced she is a great actress, but she did well enough. I will say that one of the coolest things about this movie is that the protagonists are all women. It's rare to see a movie like this and get to watch the likes of Gillan, Headey, Yeoh, Gugino, Bassett, and Coleman all play heroic, meaningful roles. On the other side of the coin, Paul Giamatti gives his typically strong supporting performance. The rest of the cast was average. Ralph Ineson has a great voice, but I wouldn't say he gives the most memorable performance. I like Adam Nagaitis, but his role was limited. Looking at the cast in its totality, it's stronger than average for sure.

The story itself is fairly predictable. It mixes solid action scenes with drama, but it feels like it's following a fairly well established script. There's not a lot of surprises or things we haven't seen before. I will say that the absolute highlight for me is the numb-arms battle Gillan engages in. It's so ridiculous and over-the-top that it's nearly impossible not to have fun watching it. It doesn't make much logical sense, but it's great fun. This is where the movie is at its best- it pushes the boundaries of credulity, but it does it in a lighthearted way. That makes the absurdity of the scenes forgivable. It doesn't always get this balance right, though. The scene where Coleman's character is driving the car is fairly awful. There's just no way a girl her age could do what her character did. Scenes like that hurt the film.

In the end, Gunpowder Milkshake does more things right than not. It's a good movie, but one with obvious flaws. I enjoyed the humorous action and the visuals, but the story and some of the execution absolutely hurts the quality. It's ultimately good, but very lightweight. Netflix has put out a number of bad action movies, so it felt almost like a pleasant surprise that this one was good. However, what this movie tries to do has already been done many times before- and far, far better than what we see here.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: John Wick, Kill Bill, Wanted