Review: 'Gunpowder Milkshake' a Slick, Fun Action Film about Women Assassins

Women assassin films abound: "Atomic Blonde," "Salt," "Lady Snowblood," "Kill Bill," "Black Widow." Most often, women in these films work alone or with men, which makes "Gunpowder Milkshake" refreshing.

Directed/co-written by Navot Papushado and co-written by Ehud Lavski, "Gunpowder Milkshake" is a slick action film with electric, pulsing propulsion.

Karen Gillan stars as Sam, an assassin working for The Firm, a powerful organization. She hasn't seen her mother, Scarlet (Lena Headey), also an assassin, in 15 years. The Firm assigns Sam to retrieve stolen money. She discovers the thief stole to fulfill a ransom on his 8-year-old daughter, Emily (Chloe Coleman). Sam disobeys orders and protects Emily, spurring pursuit by murderous henchmen from both The Firm and a rival crime syndicate. Sam turns to the Librarians – Anna May, Florence, and Madeleine (Angela Bassett, Michelle Yeoh, Carla Gugino) – a group of women assassins she knew from childhood.

This is an outstanding cast. Karen Gillan and her stunt double Aurélia Agel are excellent in action scenes. Yet, I yearned for more range from her character. A huge fan of Lena Headey, I will watch her in anything; she excels in every role from intriguing, complex villains to iconic heroes. Angela Bassett and Michelle Yeoh are cinematic titans. Unfortunately, we never learn much about either of their characters. Carla Gugino evokes fathoms of pathos. And Paul Giamatti is perpetually great. However, the film has thinly drawn characters; I wish it devoted more time to character development, especially with such a talented cast.

But the film is well paced and showcases enjoyable, excellently choreographed fight scenes by Laurent Demianoff, as well as striking production design, including interesting, unconventional locales for fight sequences. Featuring a stylized aesthetic with its bright color palette and neon lighting, the film blends genre conventions: Its opening is evocative of noir, with shadows and narration; at times it uses a Western score. The cinematography consists of lots of slow-motion and quick zoom shots. But some strange flourishes exist, such as one of our heroes removing hair pins in slow-mo before shooting a Gatling gun.

My favorite fight scene occurs in a neon-lit bowling alley. A wide shot enables the audience to witness every move. Too often, films' close-up fight scenes obscure the choreography. Without weapons, Sam unconventionally uses a hard-shell panda suitcase to block attacks, and resorts to bowling balls to incapacitate the henchmen. Other fights transpire in a hospital, a retro diner, and a gorgeous library.

It's an old trope to pair a world-weary warrior with a child, familiar from works like "The Last of Us," "Logan," "Lone Wolf and Cub," "The Mandalorian," and "Road to Perdition." But rarely, if ever, is the protagonist a woman; "Gunpowder Milkshake" creates a nice gender reversal. While an efficient assassin, Sam drinks milkshakes, eats kids' cereal, and watches anime, reminiscent of "Birds of Prey." Perhaps she tries to retain elements of her fractured childhood, still grappling with her mother's absence. In turn, Sam becomes a burgeoning maternal protector of Emily. A precocious child, Emily spouts facts learned watching educational television. Chloe Coleman exudes charm and depth. Sam clearly sees herself in Emily's situation, possibly fueling her decision to protect the child. Emily asks Sam if she's a serial killer (a reasonable question) and why she kills. Scarlet never wanted Sam to follow her dangerous profession.

Papushado envisioned "Gunpowder Milkshake" as a "female empowerment" story (via press notes). The Librarians stash weapons in classic books often written by women authors. When Sam says "women are fair game" in killing, the Librarians praise her "gender equality." This is a superficial view of feminism. Yet the overarching narrative of women's autonomy free, from the tyranny of a dominant male power structure, aligns more closely.

I enjoyed seeing three generations of women work together in an action film, especially in unconventional fight locales. Exploring themes of motherhood and female camaraderie, "Gunpowder Milkshake" is a fun, violent diversion.

"Gunpowder Milkshake" releases on Netflix on July 14, 2021.