Bullet Points: Gunpowder Milkshake
It is The Librarians facing off against The Firm in Netflix’s latest original, Gunpowder Milkshake. The action kicks off on July 14, 2021 on Netflix!
http://www.netflix.com/GunpowderMilkshake
- The Story: Sam (Karen Gillian) is a badass assassin working for The Firm. After an assignment gone wrong, Sam becomes the protector of a young girl, Emily (Chloe Coleman). Now, her employer is hot on her trail, and Sam’s only hope lies with The Librarians, a trio of ladies who are handy with the steel and know where all the books are kept. Sam is also reunited with her mother, Scarlet (Lena Headey), a former assassin / librarian on the run for the past 15 years. Will Sam and Scarlet make time for some quality mother-daughter bonding? Gunpowder Milkshake also stars Michelle Yeoh, Angela Bassett, Carla Gugino and Paul Giamatti. It is directed and co-written by Navot Papushado.
- The Action: Gunpowder Milkshake is a little bit of John Wick mixed with Sin City combined with a hint of Kill Bill, The Kingsman: Secret Service, every Nicolas Winding Refn film ever made and sprinkled with John Woo’s The Killer, Jeong-beom Lee’s The Man from Nowhere and Timo Tjahjanto’s The Night Comes for Us. There are other heavy influences as well. The action never stops once it starts going. You will never look at a bowling alley or a trip to an after-hours clinic the same ever again. Gunpowder Milkshake might be the most pure action film of the year. Does all of the action work? Not all of it, but it is definitely entertaining. We have more hits than misses. Gunpowder Milkshake is helped a lot by the likability of Karen Gillian. She carries most of the movie.
- The Music: Talk about eclectic, Gunpowder Milkshake has everything from Janis Joplin, to a hypnotic synth score, to music you would hear in a ‘70s Italian Giallo. Plus, I swear every time Lena Headey is on screen, there is a bootleg Game of Thrones theme playing in the background. The combination of music is something you have to see to believe. However, they did miss a golden opportunity to include Kelis’ “Milkshake”.
- The Verdict: Gunpowder Milkshake is fun as hell. The stunts are legit and the action is bulletproof. The story is probably the weakness, but who really watches a crazy action movie for the story? I think we have a winner!
- Grade: B+
