Gunpowder Milkshake Is a Mashup of John Wick & Close — But Not Nearly as Good as Either

 – July 22, 2021

Yesterday, after I wrapped up streaming and needed something to watch while I demolished some dinner, I hopped on Netflix and finally gave Gunpowder Milkshake a try. And honestly? The only reason the movie was on my radar is because some genius online wrote an article claiming it was better than John Wick.

Look— I like Karen Gillan. A lot. But better than John Wick?
Come on. Get real.

Naturally, the first thing I did after reading that was watch the trailer. And even from the trailer, the movie looked like a Frankenstein mashup: part John Wick, part Close, maybe a little Polar sprinkled in for flavor. And not in a clever “inspired by” way. More like:

“Hey, copy their homework but change a few words so we don’t get sued.”

Quick Refresher for the Uninitiated

If you haven’t seen the movies I’m comparing it to, here’s a lightning-round summary:

  • John Wick – Someone kills Wick’s dog. Wick, a retired assassin with a whole underground assassin economy behind him, kills everyone.

  • Close – Noomi Rapace plays a personal security expert trying to protect a rich kid in the middle of a kidnapping plot in the Middle East.

  • Polar – Mads Mikkelsen plays a hitman trying to retire, ends up protecting his neighbor (who has a deeper connection to him than it first seems), and gets dragged back in.

Okay. With that out of the way…

Gunpowder Milkshake – The Setup (Spoilers Ahead)

Karen Gillan stars as Sam, daughter of Scarlet (Lena Headey), a former assassin who didn’t start out that way—she married into the life. After her husband is killed, Scarlet and young Sam fall under the protection of The Librarians: Angela Bassett, Michelle Yeoh, and Carla Gugino, who basically run the assassin version of the public library.

Scarlet eventually has to flee for Sam’s safety. They meet at “The Diner” (which is basically this movie’s knockoff Continental Hotel) and Scarlet disappears, leaving Sam behind.

Fast-forward 15 years. Sam’s working for “The Firm.”

She’s sent on a mission, kills some guys, and accidentally ends up killing the son of crime boss Jim McAlister. Nobody at The Firm is trying to go to war with Jim, so she instantly becomes expendable.

Then she’s sent on another job: recover stolen money. She finds the guy who stole it—along with a suitcase full of bearer bonds—and accidentally shoots him mid-scuffle. As he’s bleeding out, he takes a phone call from his daughter’s kidnappers. Sam decides to save the kid.

Nathan (Paul Giamatti), her handler, wants none of this. He sends a squad after her to bring her back in.

The exchange goes sideways. The money explodes. Sam becomes the sacrificial lamb. She finds her mom after 15 years, they team up with the Librarians, blow through waves of henchmen, and roll off into the sunset with the little girl safe.

That’s the movie.

Highs & Lows

The Highs

  • The acting… mostly. Everybody more or less shows up. The cast is solid.

  • The world-building idea. It could have been cool—a female-led assassin universe with its own rules and hierarchy.

  • Stylish lighting and color. Very neon, very John Wick–adjacent.

The Lows (AKA: the stuff that kills the movie)

1. Karen Gillan’s “tough assassin” act is just… not it.

I love Karen Gillan, but her performance felt like watching someone pretend to be a badass rather than be one. Jessica Chastain (in Ava) sells that energy effortlessly. Gillan felt like she was acting at being intimidating instead of inhabiting it.

2. The movie is trying way too hard to be other movies.

The diner is the Continental.
The Firm is The High Table.
The Librarians are The Sommelier + The Tattoo Women + The Wick hotel staff.
The mother-daughter bond is ripped from Close.
The “retiring hitman protecting a kid” is straight from Polar.

It’s like the writers dumped three movies in a blender and forgot to remove the labels.

3. The action is choreographed to hell.

And not in the cool “holy shit that was slick” way.
More like:

“Are they… dancing? Is this a fight or a music video rehearsal?”

The bowling alley fight screams choreography.
The scene where Sam can’t use her arms, so the kid tapes a gun and knife to her hands? That wasn’t funny. That wasn’t badass. That was… a choice.

4. The comedy doesn’t land.

They market this as an action-comedy, but the only thing even attempting to be funny were the action scenes—unintentionally.

Final Thoughts

It’s not the worst movie ever. It’s watchable. The cast is stacked. The style is fun.

But would I recommend it?
No.

If you want movies that do this concept better, watch:

  • Extraction

  • Close

  • Polar

  • The Hunter’s Prayer

  • Ava

All of them execute the “badass assassin saves someone and goes on the run” formula with way more confidence than Gunpowder Milkshake ever musters.

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