Stanko's Stance

“Three generations of women fight back against those who could take everything from them.”

Director: Navot Papushado
Writer: Navot Papushado
Staring: Karen Gillan, Lena Headey, Cara Gugino, Michelle Yeoh, Chloe Coleman
Release Date: July 14, 2021
Streaming: Netflix

Gunpowder Milkshake had a dose of everything I love. Karen Gillan (who I love) in the lead role. She is joined by a series of recognizable supporting parts, most notably Carla Gugino and Chloe Coleman. There is a plot…but it is not important. There are also a lot of slow-mo action scenes with totally unrealistic choreography, which is important. Gunpowder Milkshake is a classically enjoyable Netflix action movie mixing pot.

Sam (Karen Gillan) is a mercenary working for a shady corporate organization known as The Firm. She got into the business following the footsteps of her mom, Scarlet (Lena Headey), despite note seeing her and having a real relationship with for over a decade. To show character growth from Sam, the story evolves to the point where she must protect Emily (Chloe Coleman), a young girl who was going to be left in the dust as part of The Firm’s objectives.

The pretty bow on the story of Sam and her mother comes when Sam needs help protecting Emily. Scarlet rises to the occasion with the help of some of her old friends, and as a result, a ton of bad guys end up dead and Sam has the chance to continue prepping Emily while also messing with The Firm’s goals.

Watching Gunpowder Milkshake, it is impossible to ignore the tangential connections to the John Wick (2014). There is a shadow organization takes advantage of its killers for hire and needs to be humbled. There is a pretty “safe house” where charismatic house keepers are secretly dangerous. The librarians from Gunpowder Milkshake is very similar to the John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017) “Suit Up” scene. The only thing missing from Gunpowder Milkshake is a puppy, but maybe Emily is the substitute in a way.

For those who don’t know Chloe Coleman, she stared in and was the best part of the movie My Spy (2020) and also appeared in the Amazon Prime show Upload. Coleman is on the up and up. She is graduating from kids movies to the big leagues with Avatar 2 (2022) and Dungeons & Dragons (2023).

Gunpowder Milkshake is a middle of the road action movie, but that seems to be where Karen Gillan lives. Between the pair of Jumanji movies and her portrayal of the terrible character Nebula in the Avengers universe (it isn’t her fault the character was bad), Gillan is on a road that has the highest upside of that of Charlize Theron and her action movie prowess.

Gunpowder Milkshake has the action, comedy and general appeasement factor going for it. We don’t need to go into the plot and how the sudden caring and lovable between mother and daughter is not worked for. Gunpowder Milkshake touches the fun buttons of violence and slo-mo kills. The amusement is there, all-be-it fleeting. Buckle in for a ride you’ll be happy to go on once and then forget about by the end of your day,

STANKO RATING: C+ (3.0/5 Stars)

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