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Navot Papushado’s candy-colored murderer sees Gillan, Lena Headey, Angela Bassett, Michelle Yeoh, and Carla Gugino strike back at the men who have long been in control of their destiny.
Subtlety isn’t offered in “Gunpowder Milkshake,” the assassin of Navot Papushado, although almost everything else is, enough neon to make Vegas, an infamous group of villains known as “The Firm, ”to Karen Gillan beating baddies with a panda suitcase, Jell-O consistency blood and an extended streak involving Michelle Yeoh killing dudes with a chain. It is not even the strong points, but simply a brief selection of highlights from Netflix Original, which aims to give a kitsch, colorful, and feminist touch to everything from the John Wick franchise to the work of Quentin Tarantino. Starring Karen Gillan in a true kicking role, Papushado’s film joins a growing subgenre of all-female action releases (see: “Atomic Blonde”, “The 355”, just announced “Alice , Darling “and many more), but her flashing sense of humor seems ready to help her stand out.
Set in and around an unnamed European city – the film was shot primarily in Germany, but there is something intentionally anonymous about the world Sam (Gillan) and his compatriots and antagonists occupy – “Gunpowder Milkshake” s ‘opens with the minimum information we might need to get involved. Sam is a contract killer, she is very good at her job and loves nothing more than a giant glass of ice cream and milk after a job well done. Sam was born into this world, in the care of her fellow murderous mother Scarlet (Lena Headey), who somewhat reluctantly brought her cute child (played in flashbacks by Freya Allan) under the sway of “The Firm,” a group of men who take care of everything (especially killers like Scarlet and Sam whom they employ for their dirty work).
Fifteen years before the opening of the film, Scarlet disappeared after colliding with Russian villains, leaving young Sam to his master Nathan (Paul Giamatti) and away from the other assassins of “The Library”, who already had him. helped raise it. Over the years that followed, Sam remained secluded most of the time, taking his orders from Nathan and doing his best not to think too much about his mother or the other wild women who were once such an important part of his life. . During his recent tenure, Sam kills the wrong guy – the son of a guy The Firm doesn’t want to cross – and is sent on another mission that involves major unforeseen complications. Suddenly cut off from Nathan and The Firm, Sam (plus a very cute kid she picks up along the way, played by the charming Chloe Coleman) has to kick a ton of ass in the hope (perhaps short-sighted) to live another day.
“Gunpowder milkshake”
Reiner Bajo / NETFLIX
His self-proclaimed new quest brings him into the orbit of a metric ton of wacky characters, “Bonehead” assassins sent by Nathan to mourn him, his very mad father Jim McAlester (Ralph Ineson), and even his own mother and the remains of The Library ladies (Angela Bassett, Carla Gugino and Yeoh, a row of murderers in every sense of the word). Ehud Lavski and Papushado’s screenplay excels at world-building – The library is an entity in its own right, but even the secret doctor’s office that Sam meets seems fully realized as part of this strange universe. But he’s not as adept at navigating the intricacies of the story he’s meant to serve.
The cute, colorful, and kitschy details that kick off the film and keep going through every high-energy moment are important, however. There’s the seemingly safe restaurant that Sam and his fellow assassins frequent both for fun and for meetings, set in a swollen pink space that doesn’t seem to fully exist in the neat town that contains the rest of the movie’s action. . Plus, there’s the liberal use of neon signs, split dioptric shots, and flashing humor. A flashy and whimsical mix of “Bad Times at the El Royale”, “Dick Tracy”, all the Tarantino movies ever made, the “John Wick” universe and a bewildering feminist theory, the whole thing is right amusing, sweet like a milkshake, with no brain freeze to worry about.
“Gunpowder milkshake”
REINER BAJO / © 2021 STUDIOCANAL
While the plot leaves a lot to be desired – wait, who Did Sam get upset? and Why Didn’t she visit the library and the “aunts” who live and work there before that? and what is it with Nathan? – the relentless zip of the film, as well as the sheer joy of seeing Gillan and company completely destroy their opponents, cannot be denied. Papushado, best known for his more horror-centric releases like “Rage” and “Big Bad Wolves,” seamlessly transfers his more deadly inclinations to pure action. “Gunpowder Milkshake” is packed with crisp and ticklish action sequences, including a part one that sees Sam take on villains without the use of his arms (though helped immensely by Coleman’s brave young Emily), and a final one bloodbath this implies that each “aunt” uses her best abilities to fend off the bad guys. Yeoh has his chain, yes, but Bassett has a pair of hammers and Gugino a tomahawk. This is the kind of movie it is.
The end of all this will not surprise anyone. “Gunpowder Milkshake” only asks for an entire set of prequels, though its final moments pretty clearly set things up for a sequel (or more). But the possibilities of a larger universe are tasty enough to support such obvious franchise bait. This first entry might be a little more satisfying on its own, but the sugar rush that accompanies “Gunpowder Milkshake” is more than sweet enough to prove its place in a fast-growing subgenre, with a icing on the cake.
Category B-
“Gunpowder Milkshake” begins airing on Netflix on Wednesday, July 14.
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