I’d been meaning to watch and write a Gunpowder Milkshake review for a while now. I’m SO glad I finally watched this film. In case you can’t tell, I loved it. This is the kind of movie that feels tailor-made for me (and I’ll explain why later). As per usual, this Gunpowder Milkshake review contains spoilers, you’ve been warned!
Kill Bill Vibes
To give this Gunpowder Milkshake review some context, Kill Bill is a movie I hold very near and dear to me. It was the first movie I ever watched where a woman was allowed to be just as ruthless and brutal as any male action star. I LOVED the fact that Gunpowder Milkshake holds nothing back. In fact, some of the kills and takedowns are so effective I actually laughed out of delight. There’s a particular long take-action sequence in the bowling alley that I absolutely ADORED. Then there’s the hilarity and inventive fight choreography of the sequence in the hospital hallway.
While this wasn’t a story of revenge like Kill Bill is, it gave me the same western vibes. I loved the mariachi music during the tense moments before and during the fights. Hell, later on, we even get the tense standoff where they’re cutting to everyone’s faces just like the finale of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. The moment that sealed it for me though is that Emily wanted to be Sam’s apprentice.
Badass Librarians
Let me begin by saying I ADORE the fact that they’re called librarians. That they keep weapons and supplies hidden in books with appropriate titles. The sequence of Sam (Karen Gillan) going through the books searching for guns was hugely entertaining. Watching her have to use whatever she found as a weapon was honestly one of the highlights of this movie for me. Fight sequences with weapons of opportunity are always my favorite kinds because they feel messier, and more real than a clean-cut fight.
The library action sequences are the best, hands down. Watching Madeline, Mary-Ann and Florence (who are dressed in the Powerpuff Girls colors, which I wasn’t sure if that was intentional or not) absolutely kick-ass and take names was fantastic. A detail that did not go unnoticed was the fact that Mary Ann and Florence’s outfits doubled as camouflage for their respective rooms (the arctic sea and the forest). However, I was saddend by Madeline’s death. I knew it wasn’t likely that everyone would get out alive, but I can always hope.
Gorgeous Aesthetics
The lighting in this movie was the embodiment of a chef’s kiss. I wanted to pause it right when Sam was lined up in the middle of the shot and use it as my desktop background. The colors in the diner were equally as beautiful. While we’re never sure what year it’s supposed to be (the late 90s? Early 2000s? Everyone has flip phones and the mall is run down) you stop caring because every scene is gorgeous.
This might just be me, but I got some big Blade Runner vibes from the use of the neon as well as the anime shirts Sam had a penchant for wearing, making it feel very neo-noir overall. Come to think of it, that bowling alley long take did remind me a lot of the long take from Oldboy (although shorter). Watch Oldboy at your own risk though. I was duped into watching it in college and it’s something I will never watch again. The fight sequences are stellar, but good God. Never again.
Final Thoughts
If stylized violence doesn’t bother you, please watch this movie. It’s funny, inventive, brutal in the best ways, and beautifully done overall. The cast played their parts immaculately, and the story provided a fresh take on an idea that can seem overdone. If you want a movie that’s very pretty to look at, filled with badass women absolutely tearing it up, Gunpowder Milkshake is your movie.
Is it gonna win an Oscar? Probably not, but I’m not here to tell you if this movie is Oscar-worthy. I’m here to tell you it was wildly entertaining, and I’ll be watching it again in the near future.
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Stray Thoughts From my Notes:
- I love that yellow and brown sweater
- Okay that’s really cute, not wanting to drink it without her mom
- Ahh the door is the lion, it’s a female lion. Like walking into the lion’s den
- Weapons of opportunity babyyyyyyyy
- hell YEAH staking dracula
- That’s one heavy cookie jar
- This is so cute I love them driving the car together
- The guns with knives attached is literally my favorite thing, it’s the IRL version of my fave gun sword from the POTC game for the wii I loved