Review: Gunpowder Milkshake

Gunpowder Milkshake has the kind of cool but nonsensical title that does a very good job of letting you know exactly what kind of experience you're in for. Excessive violence that's even more lightweight than a John Wick movie set against a backdrop of gangster capitalism so stylised it might as well be a literal cartoon? How'd you guess?

The twist here is that it's women doing the murdering, though this hasn't really been a twist in action movies for a couple of decades now. The plot itself is slightly more complex than usual, but it's really just the usual mix of double-crosses, armies of disposable goons, and shadowy figures from the past back to kick ass that these kind of crime fantasy films always deliver. Just once it'd be nice to see a crime cartel that actually was committing crimes and not just "running the city" by murdering people.

Sam (Karen Gillan) is our central murderer, scarred for life after her murderer mum Scarlet (Lena Headey) bailed on her as a teenager. Now she's doing murders for "The Firm", only she's just killed the wrong dude and her bosses are set to cut her loose. Having also messed up a straightforward "get our money back from a thief" job - the thief stole to pay the ransom for his little girl, and with Sam's family issues she wasn't going to leave the girl to die - it's on for young and old.

John Wick has made this kind of cartoon fantasy action commercially viable, at least for now, and this largely covers the same territory. It doesn't really let the side down violence-wise, but there's a real sense that the market is being flooded with cheap knock-offs. The recent Nobody was at its strongest when it focused on the lead's personal needs (he's a suburban schlub who actively enjoys the violence); the best moments here - and there are too few of them - are when this goes for wacky violence rather than the standard over-the-top carnage. 

There's a scene where Gillan's arms have been numbed but she still figures out a way to swing them around in murderous fashion that's the clear highlight of the numerous fights. In contrast, the moments where this is trying to be "cool" - especially with the arrival of her three "aunties" (Carla Gugino, Michelle Yeoh, and Angela Bassett, who don't get nearly enough to do), middle-aged women who run a library where every second book has a weapon stashed inside - don't work nearly as well.

Like a lot of these recent films (see also: everything with Harley Quinn), there's a much more quirky and entertaining film inside this that was never going to happen because following trends and trying to be cool is how movies get made. It's the kind of film you hope gets a sequel because the first installment didn't push things far enough... but if it doesn't get one, that's fine too.

 - Anthony Morris