GUNPOWDER MILKSHAKE
Cert 15 ★ In cinemas and on NOW and Sky Cinema now
The only surprise in this stylised bloodbath is the cast – that stars such as Michelle Yeoh and Angela Bassett signed up for such a derivative mess is a genuine shock.
A fatally miscast Karen Gillan plays Sam, a charisma-free version of Uma Thurman’s Kill Bill assassin as she does a Léon by breaking a contract to protect an innocent young girl (Chloe Coleman) in a heightened John Wick-style fantasy world of rule-based organised crime.
After teaming up with her estranged killer mum
(Lena Headey) and her Kingsman-style secret society of gun-toting librarians (Michelle Yeoh, Angela Bassett, Carla Gugino), Sam has to fight off a gang of goons sent by a Russian crime lord seeking revenge for the assassination of his son (John Wick again).
Director Navot Papushado’s use of garish neon colours and consciously artificial sets is more likely to induce headaches than gasps of admiration. The dialogue is witless, the heroine is dull and, worst of all, the fights scenes are unconvincing.
After nearly two hours, we get to the finale – a sub-zack Snyder slow-motion gun fight cut to a Dylan cover – and this shallow spectacle of a film has tipped into self-parody.