Gunpowder Milkshake: Karen Gillan says Netflix movie more like a Quentin Tarantino flick than John Wick

Karen Gillan in Gunpowder Milkshake
(Image credit: Netflix)

A month ahead of its release, Netflix has dropped yet another action-packed trailer for upcoming gun-totin' thriller, Gunpowder Milkshake.

It treads similar beats as the first trailer from last month, albeit with a few additional action flourishes. Karen Gillan stars in the movie as Sam, a fearless hitwoman raised by The Firm, the crime syndicate her estranged mother previously worked for. Now, when faced with the option of remaining loyal to The Firm, and her bosses, or saving the life of an eight-year-old girl, she fights back, uniting with her mother and a trio of her mother's pals dubbed The Librarians. 

All in all, it's got a revenge vibe which doesn't feel a million miles away from a certain action franchise led by Keanu Reeves. Despite those parallels, the movie has more in common with Quentin Tarantino's style, according to its star.

"It sort of exists in a fairly similar world to John Wick. They're going to pick up their weapons from a place and using code words," Gillan told IGN. "I would say the film is pretty different tonally. It's definitely slightly weirder. It's more bonkers. It's really stylized. So I would say that there's like a level of Tarantino feel to it. Maybe like Kill Bill more so than John Wick."

That's not where those similarities end, either. Gillan goes on to discuss her fighting style in the movie as somewhat improvisational. In a way, Sam's ability to "go with the flow" when it comes to tussling reminds us somewhat of Uma Thurman's character The Bride in Kill Bill.

"I think it's mainly because the guns run out of the ammo and they fly around the place," she adds. "And so then she starts having to use all these different objects as weapons. She's using a bowling ball at one point; she's using a suitcase at one point. Hand-to-hand combat, which is my favorite. I prefer to do that than to fly around in the air."

Joining Gillan in battle are Lena Headey as her mother Scarlet, Angela Bassett, Carla Gugino, and Michelle Yeoh as The Librarians and Paul Giamatti as Nathan, a ruthless crime boss. 

Gunpowder Milkshake arrives on Netflix on July 14 in the US, with an international theatrical release set for July. Before it lands, check out our list of the best Netflix movies that you can stream right now.

Gem Seddon

Gem Seddon is GamesRadar+'s west coast Entertainment News Reporter, working to keep all of you updated on all of the latest and greatest movies and shows on streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Outside of entertainment journalism, Gem can frequently be found writing about the alternative health and wellness industry, and obsessing over all things Aliens and Terminator on Twitter.