Film

Gunpowder Milkshake

Name: Gunpowder Milkshake
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Released: 2021
Cast: Karen Gillan, Lena Headey, Chloe Coleman, Carla Gugino, Michelle Yeoh

Action
Crime
Relentless

A stylish action film where a professional assassin must protect a child she's been hired to kill, forcing her to reunite with her estranged mother and their circle of retired operatives. It's a slick, violent, visually inventive heist-thriller that treats its premise with a wink. For fans of ensemble action and mid-budget filmmaking that swings for the fences.

TMDb rating

3.2

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you want a stylish, pulpy revenge romp where bullets, bright colour and a band of hardened older heroines carry the emotional weight, and you don't mind the cartoonish edges.

Skip it if you need restraint and tight plotting, since it runs loose, leans into neon excess and stylised violence, and its wit can feel like a sugar rush.

What it asks of you: Settle in for just under two hours of nonstop kinetic set pieces, with little breathing room between fights and very little stillness.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Atomic Blonde2017

A former MI6 agent navigates Cold War Berlin in a stylish spy-thriller with fight choreography as impressive as Gunpowder Milkshake's. Charlize Theron commands the screen with the same cool competence Karen Gillan brings here.

But The plot is fairly straightforward espionage stuff, and the film sometimes prioritises looking cool over narrative momentum or emotional depth.

The Old Guard2020

Charlize Theron again—wait, no: Charlize Theron's spiritual cousin in a globe-trotting action film about a team of immortal warriors protecting each other. The ensemble chemistry and practical fight work will feel immediately familiar.

But It's a Netflix film, which means the action sequences, while good, lack the theatrical polish of higher-budget affairs. Some of the plotting creaks.

Proud Mary2018

A contract killer takes in a young boy and must go to war with her former employers. It's precisely the same emotional engine as Gunpowder Milkshake but leaner, meaner, and with Taraji P. Henson's raw charisma anchoring every frame.

But It's grittier and less stylised than Gunpowder Milkshake, with a lower budget that occasionally shows. The tone swings between brutal and sentimental in ways that won't work for everyone.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Gunpowder Milkshake

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Annihilation2018

Both films center on small groups of capable women protecting someone vulnerable, but Annihilation asks what they'll sacrifice and transform into rather than celebrating their victory.

Four women venture into a shimmering, mutating zone where the rules of reality don't apply. It shares Gunpowder Milkshake's investment in female competence and ensemble dynamics, but trades action spectacle for genuine dread and existential mystery. Visually extraordinary.

But It's a cerebral sci-fi thriller, not action entertainment. If you came for fight choreography you'll find yourself watching fractals and body-horror instead. It ends in ambiguity that frustrates people seeking resolution.

Grendel

A stylish, violent series about a crime boss rebuilding her empire. It has the same graphic-novel aesthetic and female-led action sensibility, with Andrew Koji as a scene-stealing male lead who grounds the wildness.

But It's a TV series so the action is episodic rather than building toward a climax. It was cancelled after one season, so you don't get closure.

Violent Night2022

A ex-special-forces Santa Claus defends a family from home invaders with graphic creativity and style. It has the same cheerful violence and genre-play energy, treating its ridiculous premise with genuine filmmaking craft.

But It's aggressively silly in ways that can tip into feeling more comedic than thrilling. Some viewers will find the tonal mixture alienating rather than charming.

Hustlers2019

A crew of former dancers run a con on Wall Street men. It has the ensemble camaraderie and stylish crime-world execution of Gunpowder Milkshake, and works as both entertainment and character study.

But It's fundamentally a heist-comedy rather than an action film, so if you came for the fight sequences you'll be disappointed. The later act slackens considerably.

Red Sparrow2018

Jennifer Lawrence as a Russian ballerina-turned-spy navigates espionage and betrayal. It's serious and twisty with genuine stakes, offering the competent-female-operative-in-danger premise without the wink.

But It's slow-burn and intricate in ways that can feel plodding. The violence is present but not the spectacle; it's a spy thriller first, action film second.

The Protégé2021

An assassin raised by a mentor must uncover who killed her adopted father. It has Maggie Q doing precisely what you want to see, stylish action direction, and the mentor-student dynamic reconfigured as morally complex.

But The plot twists don't land with much impact, and the film feels like it's coasting on competence rather than genuine invention. The third act disappoints.

Johnny English Reborn2011

Both films treat violence and espionage as playground material for visual storytelling—they're entertained by the genre rather than beholden to it. Both believe style is substance.

Rowan Atkinson as a bumbling spy gets a surprisingly competent action film wrapped around his physical comedy. It deconstructs spy-thriller tropes with genuine affection, and the action sequences are genuinely well-shot. It's far better than its premise suggests.

But It's built on slapstick and absurdist humour that will feel juvenile if you're not in the mood for it. The film's willing to sacrifice coherence for a gag, which some viewers will find annoying rather than charming.

Destroyer2018

Both feature women operatives navigating systems of violence, but Destroyer is what Gunpowder Milkshake could become: the version that lets the story age, lets the character break, and refuses the happy ending.

Nicole Kidman as a ravaged LAPD detective infiltrates the gang that destroyed her life decades ago. It's a procedural noir with the bones of a revenge thriller, shot with ashy, unglamorous realism. Kidman's performance is a masterclass in accumulated damage.

But It's bleak, slow, and entirely uninterested in being cool or cathartic. There's no ensemble levity, no stylish gunplay—just the grinding work of vengeance and the cost of staying alive. It's genuinely depressing.