After two long years since the end of filming, the female-centric action thriller Gunpowder Milkshake will finally be released on Netflix July 14th in the States (for other countries, please check the release date individually). The movie stars a great pack of awesome women and is absolutely worth watching. Please be aware that this article will contain spoilers!
Like mother, like daughter
Scarlet (Lena Headey) is an elite assassin, who started working for a ruthless crime syndicate named The Firm after her husband got killed. After she takes revenge and kills the Russian gangsters who murdered her husband, she is left with no choice but to abandon her 12-year-old daughter Sam (Karen Gillan). The last time Sam sees her mother is when she shares a milkshake with her at the diner moments before she flees and goes on the run.
Sam was left by her mother and gets raised and trained by The Firm. Like her mother, grown-up Sam herself has become a cold-blooded hitwoman. Now, 15 years later, she is a loyal “employee” and has a lot of talent hunting down the “bad guys.” That’s why her phone rings constantly to clean up The Firm’s messes.
One day, a mission gets out of control and Sam kills more people than intended. Sam is then forced to get rid of her “dirty” old weapons to protect herself from getting tracked down. For the exchange of weapons, she visits The Library, a place run by the members of the sisterhood of assassins, called the “Librarians.” First being skeptical about her apparition, the three women Madeleine, Anna May, and Florence start to trust Sam when they find out that she is the daughter of their former ally, Scarlet.
Sam’s next mission is already waiting: Nathan (Paul Giamatti), her contact man at The Firm, assigns her to bring back money that someone stole from them. However, things are not like they seem, as the thief only acted the way he did to save the life of his daughter, Emily (Chloe Coleman). While they fight, Sam kills the man, and realizes, that she has now put the life of 8-year-old Emily at risk. The Firm doesn’t care about the little girl, but Sam does. So, instead of bringing back the money, she decides to exchange it for the thief’s daughter. After the successful exchange, Sam tries to hunt the blackmailers down but isn’t able to secure the money.
A “family reunion”
Sam calls Nathan, who declares to her, that she killed the wrong people on her last job. Although The Firm assigned her the job and knew what they were doing, they make Sam responsible for the death of the son of a dangerous gangster boss. Sam finally sees through The Firm, its methods, and the role she plays. And that by saving Emily she has turned on The Firm, and signed her own death warrant. She hardly survives the first attack of some of The Firm’s assassins, when Nathan helps her one last time by directing her to a safehouse.
Sam can bring herself and Emily into safety. After fifteen years, Sam’s mother shows up at the safehouse. Of course, Sam wants to know why Scarlet abandoned her and where she has been all these years. Just when she told her everything, more assassins turn up, having been led to the safehouse by Nathan. Scarlet helps Sam and Emily to escape. Together, they return to The Library. Although The Librarians are angry with Scarlet for having left them without a word, they plan to escape together. While they prepare to leave, the assassins reach The Library.
Sam wants the others to flee while she fights them off alone. Emily doesn’t want to leave her, as she sees herself now as Sam’s apprentice. When Sam confesses to her that she was the one who killed her father, Emily is in denial, but finally agrees to leave with the others. However, Scarlet can’t bear to leave her daughter alone again and returns to fight with her. Eventually, Florence and Anna May join mother and daughter in their fight against the assassins when they remember the old times. Madeleine is left in the basement to continue packing the van for their escape when the nephew of the gangster boss, who’s son Sam killed, approaches them.
Madeleine tries to protect Emily but gets killed. Emily gets kidnapped. The only way to get her back is for Sam to deliver herself to the gangster boss. Again, Sam insists on doing this alone. When she arrives at the Diner where the exchange should take place, a dozen of assassins is already waiting for her. Although no guns are allowed at the Diner, Sam has to realize, that she stands no chance against them. Luckily, the waitresses in the Diner turn out to be Scarlet, Anna May, and Florence. They give her back up to bring Emily out of the Diner and then proceed to kill all of the assassins.
Emily is back with the sisterhood, but Sam wants to make sure she stays safe. She sends Emily dressed up as a girl scout to Nathan’s house. He thinks that Sam sends her to do the dirty work, but Sam hides in the back and threatens Nathan with a sniper rifle. She makes him promise, that he will do her no harm. Or else she would find and kill him. The movie ends with the 5 women of three generations driving into their new lives.
“Gunpowder Milkshake” has a powerful cast
One of the reasons I was looking forward to that movie was the cast. Mainly because I have loved Karen Gillan since Doctor Who. This movie shows again how well Karen has developed as an actor over the years. I’ll buy the trained assassin and tool of the Firm from her, as well as her transformation into a mother like figure for Emily. We knew she can fight since we first saw her as Nebula in The Guardians of the Galaxy, but the choreographed fighting scenes in Gunpowder Milkshake felt higher level and, to be honest, left me a bit breathless. The reunion with her mother, Lena Headey, was also acted realistically by both actors. The two women don’t fall into each other’s arms, happy to see each other again. Karen and Lena play the estranged daughter and mother believably.
Engaging some legendary actresses to portray the “Librarians” was a brilliant choice. Angela Bassett, Michelle Yeoh, and Carla Gugino had been cast as the members of the sisterhood of assassins, called the “Librarians.” At first glance, they are three completely different women. The characters they portray seem incompatible, and yet they complement each other perfectly.
Finally, there is the young girl Emily, that Sam tries to protect. She is portrayed by Chloe Coleman. A young fine actress, that already brings some sass to life for her character.
Gunpowder Milkshake was directed by Navot Papushado, from a screenplay by Papushado and Ehud Lavski.
Fighting like a “girl” (Trigger Warning for blood)
People assume that women are, in general, the weaker gender when it comes to body strength. However, Sam proves that she can fight off a couple of guys at once with her bare hands. Also, the women in this movie seem to be very creative when it comes to fighting. Where the men use guns or knives, Sam, Scarlet, and the sisterhood use gold bars, chains, and hammers to hurt their opponents. Also, they work and fight together which brings them success.
There is a reason why the movie is for years 18 and older. The MPAA gave the film an R rating due to “… strong bloody violence throughout and language.” Sensitive people might want to look away during the many fights in this movie (or not watch it at all). Especially the final battle in the Diner is not for viewers with a weak stomach. The three members of the sisterhood slaughter down the gangster in slow motion: blood and brain mass spreads at the ceiling and curtains, faces are slammed into glasses, knives cut skin, and so on.
Gunpowder Milkshake is a great action thriller. The creativity in the weapons used to fight (as mentioned above) is one aspects of why I think this way. The other is the very dynamically choreographed fighting scenes. One scene I liked much was the partly paralyzed Sam that still was able to fight the assassins that were sent for her. She killed three men with a gun and knife tapped into her hands. The last big fight in the Diner was another well-choreographed masterpiece. The fight itself and therefore the filming must have lasted only a few seconds. Showing it in slow-motion shows the detail of how on point the acting and choreography of the fight were. In total, the movie gave me some strong Kill Bill or John Wick vibes.
It can be discussed whether that much blood and violence were necessary for the movie, but I think (not only because I’m not sensitive when it comes to blood) it was directed just right the way it was. Critics could have said otherwise that it’s a “girl’s movie” and women are not as strong or brutal. The way Sam and the others are portrayed like men, they are shown equally strong and brutal. Being a hitman (or hitwoman) might not be a morally acceptable job, but women are capable of doing it.
Overall thoughts on “Gunpowder Milkshake”
I was really looking forward to that film. However, in retrospect, I think the trailer gave away too much and “ruined” the film a bit. It showed a lot of the story and the ending was almost predictable. We saw almost all of the fighting scenes, the return of Scarlet and the reunion with the Librarians wasn’t a surprise either. While watching the movie, I had several moments where I knew what was coming next because it was in the trailer.
In the end, I really enjoyed watching the film. It made me laugh several times. For instance, in the beginning, we see Sam patching up herself and she tells Nathan that she’s “sewing.” Sam’s discussion with Emily of whether she’s a serial killer or not also made me laugh.
If you have watched and liked the movie, then we have good news for you: StudioCanal announced earlier this week, that they are working on a follow-up to Gunpowder Milkshake, with Karen Gillan set to return. No further information at this point, but we will keep you updated.
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