8 ¾ of Vanilla Milkshakes and Assassin Sisterhoods

Jhanya&Ria's Corner
Aug 21, 2021
4 min read

"There is little joy in life for me, and little terror in the grave. I've lived the parting hour to see of one I would have died to save." - Anna May

The Broken Hearts Gallery Poster — Gunpowder Milkshake Movie Poster (c/o IMDb)

Gunpowder Milkshake

Rated R-16

Release Date (Location)

114 mins

Available on Netflix

Directed & Written by Karen Gillan, Lena Headey, Carla Gugino, Chloe Coleman, Michelle Yeoh, Angela Bassett, Paul Giamatti

Synopsis:

To protect an 8-year-old girl, a dangerous assassin reunites with her mother and her lethal associates to take down a ruthless crime syndicate and its army of henchmen. (Google)

In her turbulent life as a professional assassin, Scarlet was cruelly forced to abandon her daughter Sam and go on the run. Years later, despite the estrangement, Sam has also grown up into a cold-blooded hitwoman. After a high-stake mission spins out of control, putting an innocent 8-year-old girl in the middle of the gang war she has unleashed, Sam has no choice but to go rogue. This ultimately leads her back to her mother and her former hitwomen sidekicks, who all join forces in an avenging war against those who took everything from them. (IMDb)

Content Disclaimer: Blood, Violence, Gore

Ria: Gunpowder Milkshake is a movie I wouldn’t usually watch because of the violence so I was very scared of watching it. The movie showed many many violent scenes, but they were pretty much the highlight of the whole movie. Gunpowder Milkshake is also a thriller kind of movie, although, I wouldn’t count it as too much of a thriller as action.

This movie ranks low on my watch list. I will likely not rewatch it not only because it doesn’t match my movie preferences but I also feel like it lacked the depth the creators may be aiming for. For example, they only lightly tackled issues of motherhood and parenting very lightly. I really feel kinda disheartened about that. The plot also was nothing spectacular at all.

Lena Heady as Scarlet and Freya Allan as Young Sam

Jhanya: Okay. Gunpowder Milkshake. This movie caught my attention because of the title. It intrigued me. But what got me was the pretty star-studded cast. Well after watching, all I can say is that I don’t hate the film, but I also don’t like it either. I came into this film knowing nothing about it, and I don’t think it would’ve made a difference even if I did.

Throughout the film, I felt like everything was so slow. From the dialogue to the action sequences, it was like I was watching everything in slow motion. That isn’t a good sign for me because it means that I was bored, or the majority of the scenes really were in slow motion. I found most of the scenes bland, along with the direction. Some questionable camera angles didn’t show what they wanted to show, and for some reason, there was barely any crowd. I’m not kidding, you’ll barely see any extras in the background other than the characters and the bad guys. And to me, it pulls out the audience from the experience because it’s obvious that what they’re seeing is fiction.

Ria: Additionally, I also feel that some characters were really lacking. The mom, Scarlet, really was lacking for me. Her character didn’t particularly make sense to me and I feel sad that they didn’t explore her character more. Sam, the main character, also felt flat to me. She was portrayed as the cold assassin throughout, and when her character development was shown, she was still a cold assassin. I’m not sure if there was a problem in the scenes or acting or the character itself. It just didn’t feel right.

Jhanea: I have the same thoughts as Ria. Karen Gillan wasn’t fit for this role. Her acting throughout the film was so weak for a supposed “badass” character. Additionally, her voice was pretty much monotone throughout. While the story may be partially to blame, Sam isn’t a memorable character. Heck, I felt like she was an extra near the end of the film lmao.

Ria: However, having said this, this movie does have some redeeming qualities. The most notable being the fight scenes. Those scenes (albeit very very violent) were epic!! I can clearly see how they took the effort to choreograph these scenes. The cinematography and visuals were also really pretty and thought out. In those scenes, the effort was seen and paid off. My complaint would probably be the blood they used, which was so obviously fake HAHSHAAHAHAH

Jhanea: Another redeeming quality of the film is its supporting cast. They totally outshined Sam whenever they were on screen. I especially liked Florence (Michelle Yeoh) and Emily (Chloe Coleman). Their characters were entertaining, charming, and had some pretty good jokes. Speaking of jokes, there was A LOT of book jokes throughout the film, mainly because of the library. For avid readers, they will be thoroughly entertained with them because they were executed just right.

Florence (Michelle Yeoh), Anna May (Angela Bassett), and Madeleine (Carla Gugino))

Ria: In conclusion, this movie was okay for one watch only. The plot was super duper lacking but the fight scenes were super awesome. And of course, Michell Yeoh, what a badass. I’d recommend this movie to someone who prefers violent movies, in general.

Jhanea: GunpowderMilkshake is the type of film that one would watch when they’re bored and scrolling through Netflix just to watch something. It isn’t memorable, but it will keep you entertained whilst watching it. I have to warn John Wick fans though. This movie was definitely, in some way, based on it, and they did a meh job at it. The fight scenes were very creative but lacked that certain oomph usually felt when watching fight sequences in John Wick.