First Take: Gunpowder Milkshake- this ain’t a vanilla action movie.

SYNOPSIS: Three generations of women fight back against those who could take everything from them.

If you watch any programme on a Sky channel, you’ll have definitely seen promo for this film over the last few weeks- a couple of years ago the lovely folks at StudioCanal (who follow me on Twitter these days, welcome to the family, folks) announced this film to the world, then the cast came out… then Covid hit. It’s finally in cinemas and on Sky’s movies service, and it is a surprisingly decent film with a few minor flaws.

Navot Papushado (what a name) helms the film, and while it is paced relatively well for a 1 hour 54 minute movie, there are major dialogue issues in the script he and Ehud Lavski have created- it has a lot of potential, but some lines are a bit clunky and overwritten, and whether it was a stylistic choice or not remains to be seen, mercifully if you like your action, there is plenty of it, rightfully earning that 15 certificate in the process. It is shot incredibly well by Michael Seresin, a DoP who can do no wrong in my eyes following his work on Matt Reeves’ Planet of the Apes films, and on scoring duties is Frank Ilfman, who turns in some decent music for a film like this.

Performance wise, this is a strong ensemble piece, with Karen Gillan leading the charge alongside Lena Headey, Angela Bassett, Michelle Yeoh, Carla Gugino, Michael Smiley and Paul Giamatti in those supporting roles, with young talent Chloe Coleman (who is one of the highlights of the film) completing the cast of characters we have in a movie which has already been greenlit for a sequel. Yes, it is a brutal film, with a few issues when it comes to dialogue, but if 2017′s Atomic Blonde was your kind of big screen entertainment, this is more of the same kind of thing, and it is definitely worth tracking down.

THE VERDICT

As far as counter-programming for Bond is concerned, Gunpowder Milkshake should have some, but not much success due to the whole day and date release locking major chains out of a cinema run. But it is a decent film regardless, one that is certainly worth a look.

RATING: 3.5/5

Gunpowder Milkshake is in selected UK cinemas, as well as being available to Sky Cinema subscribers on satellite, cable and NOW TV at no extra cost.