Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Karen Gillan, Lena Hedley, Paul Giamatti, Paul Ineson, Carla Cugino, Angela Bassett, Michelle Yeoh, Chloe Coleman, Mai Duong Kieu, Michael Smiley, Samuel Anderson, Jack Bandeira, David Burnell IV, Ivan Kaye, Joanna Bobin, Freya Allan, Ed Birch, Adam Nagaitis, Joshua Grothe, Hannes Pastor, Billy Buff, Lee Huang.
Women with attitude and girls with guns, not the combination so cinema goers or film buffs of a certain persuasion will find room for in their lives, but a subject of perspective that is always fascinating, and in many ways necessary.
There is always a modern argument that follows any successful film franchise which is then turned on its head by placing a female actor in the established lead role, the art of subversion alive and well; that argument, normally fashioned under the guise of outraged guilt that the roles are considered quintessentially male, has no truth it, and the film lover should surely recognise in the 21st Century tales, whether old or new, must have the ability to be fluid, be flexible, if cinema is too survive.
Whilst the idea of Gunpowder Milkshake may lay in the gun-toting heartbeat of John Wick, it is nonetheless arguably a more intriguing tale, where one is set in the bleak misgivings of life, the other has more divisive and decisive appeal attached to its name, and in the end, whilst John Wick may have the gravitas of Keanu Reeves, it lacks the enlightenment of female aggression, of compassion in the moment of the kill, to which Karen Gillan in the role of Sam manages to portray.
Navot Papushado’s take on the female assassin and gun for hire may appear to be top layered bubble-gum pop, that it appears to those not willing to dig deeper than their own pre-conceived idea of being anything other than a variant version of the aforementioned John Wick tales, but did away underneath that initial layer, and you find a film of assertion, of dominance, or neglect and a female protagonist which has more in common with the great Sigourney Weaver’s character Ripley from Alien than other female lead films which proport to bring balance to the idea of strong women taking the initiative.
Whether it is the grounding provided by Ms. Gillan in her role as Nebula in the Marvel film franchise or by the support of resilient and forceful actors such as the terrific Lena Hedley, Paul Giamatti, Paul Ineson, the undervalued in recent films Carla Cugino, Angela Bassett and Michelle Yeoh all leaving their impressionable cinematic statement in the full glare of the audience, only the watcher can truly discern, but what it does show is the substantial belief shown in Ms. Gillan’s ability to not only carry off action sequences, but to do so with a large sense of humour as well.
Gunpowder Milkshake is no John Wick, in many ways it carries the premise of the loose cannon assassin with a finer degree of entertainment than that offered by its darker cousin, and for that the audience can take heart that there is a new hero in town, one with wit and guile to outwit most men, and one which sees Karen Gillan step out of the shoes of Nebula and into a different dimension of acting.
Ian D. Hall