Gunpowder Milkshake Review: A Neon, Noir, Spaghetti Western With Some Badass Ladies

Release date: July 14, 2021
Running time: 111 minutes
Directed By: Navot Papushado
Starring: Karen Gillan, Lena Headey, Angela Bassett, Michelle Yeoh, Carla Gugino, Chloe Coleman, Paul Giamatti

Sam (KAREN GILLAN) was only 12 years old when her mother Scarlet (LENA HEADEY), an elite assassin, was forced to abandon her. Sam was raised by The Firm, the ruthless crime syndicate her mother worked for. Now, 15 years later, Sam has followed in her mother’s footsteps and grown into a fierce hit-woman. She uses her “talents” to clean up The Firm’s most dangerous messes. She’s as efficient as she is loyal. But when a high-risk job goes wrong, Sam must choose between serving The Firm and protecting the life of an innocent 8-year-old girl - Emily (CHLOE COLEMAN). With a target on her back, Sam has only one chance to survive: Reunite with her mother and her lethal associates, The Librarians (MICHELLE YEOH, ANGELA BASSETT and CARLA GUGINO). These three generations of women must now learn to trust each other, stand up to The Firm and their army of henchmen, and raise hell against those who could take everything from them.

Gunpowder Milkshake either is based on an anime or manga, or is at least inspired heavily by it.  I love the little touches at the start with some Japanese inspired imagery like Japanese stickers and shows, as well as a cute, kids phone that looks like a large cat.  And the style doesn't stop there as the film also has a stylish presentation that melds classic noir tropes, neon, and some spaghetti western influences into an entertaining film.  And thankfully, for a film called Gunpowder Milkshake, there are plenty of milkshakes throughout.

Gunpowder Milkshake has an all star cast that are fun to watch and root for.  The all female leads are a great group, headlined by Karen Gillan who definitely goes all in on the stylish aspects of the film.  I really liked her character, the over the top but appropriate fashions she wears (leaning on the Noir motif with a trenchcoat and wide hat), and her various fights. Her mother, Lena Headley was also quite fun to watch, and the two have some enjoyable banter as they reconnect during the film.  And special shoutout to Chloe Coleman for her character, who has to be scared, emotional, and also a little sassy during this ordeal.  She is going to do great things in her career!  The librarians are another great set of female stars, and I really liked how each of them brought something different to the overall cast.  And finally, Paul Giamatti is great as Gillan's main contact at the secretive Firm. 

And Gunpowder Milkshake will feel familiar because it has a lot of tropes from John Wick.  From over the top assassins, to drawn out and well choreographed fights, to a secret underworld with codenames for everything, this film feels like a brighter, female John Wick.  But whereas John Wick has some levity, this film leans much more heavily on its funny side.  The fights are brutal and exciting but also have a lot more humor than I was expecting.  There are some scenes were a character will lose use of their arm and have to fight swinging around a mostly useless limb; or other fights where ridiculous improvised weapons are used.  But these give the film something of a unique identity and something that is a lot of fun to see.  These fights are all the more exciting because of the craziness and the ladies that are fighting are entertaining to watch. 

Gunpowder Milkshake is a stylish film that melds noir, neon, spaghetti westerns, and some badass ladies into a female-focused, more light hearted but no less brutal John Wick-type film.

Watch it.

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Gunpowder Milkshake is available on Netflix on July 14, 2021.