Nobody’s perfect and studios and streaming platforms are susceptible to copious amounts of scrutiny, but one area where Netflix has dominated over the past year is representation. Gunpowder Milkshake, directed by Navot Papushado, is dominated by female talent, young and old, and makes for a refreshing detour from the usual, male-dominated, shoot-’em-ups.
Sam (Karen Gillan) was only 12 years old when her mother Scarlet (Lena Headey) was forced to abandon her. Unbeknownst to Sam, her mother was a well-trained and well-respected assassin. After her mother’s departure, Sam was raised by The Firm, the crime syndicate that made use of her mother’s services.
Following in her mother’s footsteps, Sam became a force to be reckoned with. But when an assignment gets botched and personal feelings get in the way, she’ll have to decide whether to stick to business as usual or to trust her gut.
This film boasts everything you want with little to no filler. There’s just enough of a backstory between mom and daughter that you don’t have to relive flashbacks or sit through blubbery gobs of dialogue, and there’s absolutely no sappy love story. It’s Kill Bill meets John Wick with a dash of Baby Driver except it’s all women that are laying the smackdown.
The film also stars Michelle Yeoh, Carla Gugino, and Angela Bassett. It was great to see Bassett in a role that tests physical limits as she’s been known to flaunt those killer arms of hers. And it was only right to have Lena Headey resorting to violence since that became her trademark across the Seven Kingdoms.
Gunpowder Milkshake gets a 9.5 out of 10. The film brandishes a great deal of delicious violence, timely humor, and awesome fight sequences. Knives, guns, or even hammers, anything that’s not nailed to the ground is fair game.
Gunpowder Milkshake will be available on Netflix on Wednesday, July 14.
-Jon J.