Gunpowder Milkshake Review (2021) – A wild, colorful, and tremendously fun, female driven, badass action movie about redemption, and self-discovery!

This week’s wonderful film is one for the ages. It is witty, hilarious, incredibly entertaining, and filled to the brim with so much beautiful contrast and color. This movie is visually stunning and reminds us of strongly of Kill Bill. This week’s epic film is Netflix’s “Gunpowder Milkshake”!

If you haven’t already guessed, we love this movie! We had the best time watching it! But, some trigger warnings before we get into it. This movie is violent, with a lot of guns, death, and blood. We personally did not find it to be too bad, but it is still something to be aware of.

So let’s get into this adrenaline-fueled journey through a world of assassins, alliances, and revenge! Strap yourself in for a wild ride as the movie opens with a bang and wastes no time in introducing us to its badass heroine and her treacherous world!

Let’s get started!

The film begins by introducing us to Sam, (Karen Gillan) a highly skilled and highly trained hit-woman who works for an organization called The Firm! We see her in her large hat, and long trench coat finishing up a job, with her voice over briefly discussing The Firm.

The Firm has been running things for a long time…perhaps a little too long…we shall see!

We see a door being kicked in, a large group of armed men! Sam whips her guns up violently…

The title of the film pops up…and we cut to Sam walking into a dark apartment, going to the refrigerator/freezer and pulling out the necessary ingredients for one of our favorite things ever! A milkshake!

The implication being that whatever we last saw, she was able to get out of the situation with minimal damage to her person.

She drinks her milkshake heartily, and proceeds to eat some cereal in front of the T.V. She looks surprised as she sees some blood seeping through to her pajamas on her arm. Tired, she starts stitching up a deep cut on her arm.

Her flip phone rings, and she answers with a sigh. Her handler Nathan, (Paul Giamatti), wants to meet at “The Diner.” Sam asks, “How much trouble am I in?”

Cut to the front of The Diner, it is dark, raining and a touch foreboding.  Despite that, sitting inside The Diner, Sam still orders her favorite, a vanilla milkshake with 2 straws.

The next scene is a flashback to 15 years prior, of the same Diner but a teenaged Sam. Waiting in the same booth, with the same type of milkshake with 2 straws. The waitress tells her that her mom won’t be too much longer, but Sam replied, “You clearly don’t know my mother very well.”

Mom (Lena Headey) walks in, the waitress, Rose, greets her, and asks if she is carrying. This Diner is clearly a place where people with guns regularly meet up.

Rose tells Mom where her daughter is seated, and we follow Mom to her seat across from Sam.

Sam and her Mom talk about her lateness. Annoyed, Sam hands her a large book. Inside the book is a carved out section holding a gun. Mom quickly closes the book and tells Sam that she, “Has to disappear for a while.”

Perturbed, Sam asks if she can go with her and her mom says no. She will be staying with Nathan…Sam is not happy about this at all and demands to know what is going on.

Mom evades the questions and distracts Sam with the fact that she has not touched her milkshake. Sam tells her, “I didn’t want to drink it without you.”

Mom leans forward and Starts to take a sip from her straw. Sam does the same. They share a brief moment with the milkshake. Mom leaves the table to make a phone call…right after she leaves the table an angry man and a few henchmen walk into the Diner.

He spots Sam, and sits at her table. They exchange some banter and we learn that Mom apparently killed this man’s father. Mom brushes it off, just another day at the office, no biggie.

The scene escalates, Sam’s mom returns, tells Sam to close her eyes, and she shoots the man and his henchmen. Mom then leaves The Diner and we see an older gentlemen standing between Sam and the door.

Sam tries to chase after her Mom, but the man holds her back. In tears Sam’s mom drives off, leaving her there with the older man.

We then cut back to the present! The same older man that we saw holding young Sam back has just entered the Diner, her handler, Nathan (Paul Giamatti).

The waitress checks to see if he is clean, and he walks over to Sam at her booth.

Nathan checks in with Sam, and tries to figure out what happened earlier. She discovers that her last target was the son of a powerful and dangerous crime lord named Jim McAlester (Ralph Ineson). Nathan is very concerned, but she brushes it off. Frustrated, Nathan sets that aside to discuss a new job. Someone has stolen money from The Firm! The money needs to be located, returned, and the culprit placed into a body bag.

As he is about to leave, Nathan urges her to get rid of her hot weapons and to get clean ones. She is sentimental about her weapons, but overall she agrees.

Cut to Jim McAlester (Ralph Ineson), a crime boss, in a warehouse of some kind. There are bodies on the floor and the man is talking to some henchmen. He is upset about the bodies…but he is particularly upset about the death of his son.

Jim then goes on to say that, “Nobody tells his mother about this.” This line was obnoxious and stupid to us potatoes. As if the woman who carried their son for nine months would not have the right to know that he is dead! It is weirdly sexist to us, and kind of sets the tone a little bit for Jim McAlester.

He is not “protecting” his wife, he is keeping her ignorant of the truth so that he does not have to deal with her grief and pain. We also got the impression that this is a way for him to avoid the truth for himself as well. But we digress!

He wants the heads of the “men” that killed his boy and sets his ruthless henchmen to the job.

Cut back to Sam unloading a large yellow duffel bag out of a red convertible. She has her hat slung low, and she walks up to a beautiful, ornate, older building.

Inside is a gorgeous library! We love libraries! But that’s neither here or nor there. The library is lovely though!

She walks boldly up to the librarian’s desk, and sets the duffel bag on it. The librarian, Madeleine, (Carla Gugino) sitting at the desk asks, “What can I do for you?” Sam responds, “I need to exchange some… books…”

They exchange some banter, but the librarian seems to recognize Sam…but she cannot place how or why she looks familiar to her…but she does.

Madeleine instructs Sam to follow her. Picking up the duffel bag, Sam follows her through a hidden door, and down into the basement of the library.

Madeleine calls out gently to a fellow librarian, expressing Sam’s interest in opening up an account with them. Anna May, (Angela Basset), is unimpressed and unsure. She calls for the third Librarian Florence, (Michelle Yeoh), to join them in their decision making.

 Florence asks Sam to turn around and take off her hat. They recognize her as Scarlet’s daughter and are impressed with her record. Scarlet was once a Librarian…and she disappeared. Anna May is still displeased…there is some bad blood between her and Scarlet, but decide to help Sam and give her “clean books” anyway.

The use of books in this film is pretty fun, and humorous! We potatoes are big readers ourselves, but it is amusing to us that they use books to hide, and to refer to guns throughout this movie.

They start selecting books off the shelves to give to her, all written by amazing female authors such as Jane Austin, etc. and all filled with different weapons that Sam will find useful.

After Sam gets the “clean books” that she needs she leaves and heads to the location of the mission that Nathan gave her. Find the thief, end him, and get the money back to The Firm.

She finds her thief easily enough, and does not really want to kill him just for stealing. He runs at her, and she shoots him in the gut. Afterwards, she finds out that this man’s daughter has been kidnapped and ransomed…hence why he stole money from The Firm!

Sam has a soft spot for children. Regretting shooting the father, she takes him to a private hospital. A hospital that is clearly used solely by The Firm. She urges the doctor to fix him up as quickly as he can.

The doctor can only do so much, and she has no choice but to come back for him later. She calls Nathan and tells him about the situation. Nathan does not care about the little girl, and pushes Sam to just return the money to them.

Sam refuses. She is going to go after the little girl, and she hangs up on Nathan. Exasperated Nathan sends 3 thugs to go after Sam and collect the money. He warns them to be cautious and aware of who they are dealing with!

Next we see Sam walking into a neon light-filled bowling alley. This is where they were told that Emily would be…but she is not there. We are going to start speeding things up a bit here so we can get this a little more concise.

The henchmen that Nathan sent turn up at the bowling alley, and there is an incredible fight scene. The neon lighting of the bowling alley makes the scene that much more visually interesting, and the way that Sam will use whatever is around her to get the job done is also a blast to watch!

After Sam has dispatched the henchmen, and after some more jerking around by the kidnappers, she finally manages to get to Emily, (Chloe Coleman).

They make the exchange and Sam tries to get the money back. Unfortunately one of the kidnappers did not want to share the money, and they proceed to try to kill each other. It ends up with the money being blown up by a grenade and Sam is left with nothing to return to the Firm!

Emily is a strangely accommodating and incredibly mature for her age. Smells a bit of parentification to us. Emily has had to grow up faster than she should have, but we digress!

What is Sam going to do? The Firm will leave her high and dry without even so much as a blink. Which is exactly what they do! They drop her, and Nathan informs Jim McAlester of where and how to find Sam. Trying to figure out what to do next, Sam runs into a familiar face…one she has not seen in years…We are going to start wrapping up our little snap shot of the film here!

To stay alive and to protect Emily, Sam seeks refuge with the Librarians who, as it turns out, do not just run guns…they are a group of deadly assassins themselves. We love all of these women! These fierce and enigmatic ladies add so much excitement, intrigue and fun to the story!

We had a lot of fun with this movie! "Gunpowder Milkshake" has an incredibly stylish and visually stunning aesthetic. It blends neon-lit settings, high-octane action sequences, and a hint of dark humor so beautifully! The film also pays homage to classic action flicks while infusing its own unique flair and we are here for it!

The movie immerses us in a world of relentless violence and danger, but! It also explores themes of loyalty, family, and redemption! Sam's journey becomes not only about survival but also about finding her own identity and reclaiming her agency within a patriarchal and unforgiving underworld.

We really feel for Sam in many ways! Her mom leaving her was a big catalyst for Sam, and while her Mom did have her reasons for leaving Sam…that is still such a horrid thing to do to your child! It is well known that children need consistency from their parents. They need to know that they will be there, and Sam learned in so many ways that this is not true for her.

This causes her to be fairly closed off as an adult and resistant to forming true attachments and relationships. Why do that if they are just going to leave? We love seeing Sam with Emily. We do not love the circumstances for either of them, but we adore their dynamic together. There is this sense that you get as the audience that they need each other and not just for survival.

The Librarians are amazing! We love every single actress in this movie. They all did an amazing job, and you can tell that they had fun with their roles. The only complaint that we have is that it was a bit predictable! It follows the classic action movie, John Wick, kind of story-line.

But it is so unique and the film really does have its own spin on things! So while you may kind of know how the film is most likely going to end…the ride to get there is still such a riot that you will not truly mind! We certainly didn’t!

So grab your popcorn and a drink (a spiked milkshake if you’re feeling so inclined)! Revel in the wildly entertaining world of "Gunpowder Milkshake!" It may not be a flawless masterpiece, but it's a fun and stylish romp that knows exactly what it is—a neon-lit, bullet-ridden, and unabashedly badass flick that celebrates the power of fierce women!

We adore this film and consider it a must see! If you are someone who enjoys dark humor, uniquely colorful and badass action scenes, and witty dialogue you will love this movie!

We give this movie 5 Vanilla Spiked Milkshakes out 5!

The Gunpowder Milkshake Drinking Game

Take a sip anytime:

1.     Sam gives herself first aid

2.     Sam displays her assassin skills

3.     Sam is outnumbered but still emerges victorious

4.     Sam uses a book or library-related item as a weapon

5.     Sam forms an alliance with another character

6.     Sam pulls off an elaborate escape or evasion tactic

7.     Sam protects Emily

8.     Sam talks with one of the librarians

9.     Anyone drinks a milkshake

10.  There’s a milkshake on screen

11.  A classic song plays

12.  You see weapons in books

13.  Anyone says "close your eyes"

14.  Anyone says "Another day at the office"

15.  Anyone says "The Firm"

16.  Anyone uses "books" to mean guns

17.  Anyone names a book or there’s a famous book cover on screen

18.  Anyone uses something unconventional as a weapon

19.  There are Neon or colored lights on screen

20.  A flip phone on screen or someone flips their phone open

21.  Anyone uses a unique weapon or gadget

22.  There's a colorful and visually stunning fight scene

23.  There's clever wordplay or a pun

24.  There's a moment of unexpected humor

25.  Any nods to classic action movies or genres

What did you think?? Did you like the movie? Did you hate it!? Do you have suggestions for films we should watch?! Any and all thoughts are welcome! Let us know here in the comments and always remember to be safe and drink responsibly!