It might be a broad generalization, but Netflix appears to be drawing inspiration from the John Wick playbook when it comes to deciding which original action movies to acquire and debut exclusively on the platform.
Extraction saw Chris Hemsworth’s Tyler Rake embark on a hand-to-hand, weaponized and vehicular path of destruction that wasn’t too dissimilar to Keanu Reeves’ sharp-suited assassin barreling his way through the New York City underworld, while September’s Kate is produced by John Wick co-director David Leitch’s 87North banner, who’ve cornered the market in bone-crunching choreography thanks to all four Wick installments, Atomic Blonde and Nobody.
The latest Netflix original that looks to be indebted to Reeves’ blockbuster franchise is Gunpowder Milkshake, with the concept of elite assassins The Librarians bearing more than a passing resemblance to the wider mythology of the Continental Hotel and its various bases around the world. The streaming service has released a new clip this week offering some expositional backstory ahead of the movie’s debut next month, and it certainly looks promising.
Karen Gillan stars as a woman following in her mother’s footsteps, but naturally a job goes wrong, leaving her in charge of an 8 year-old girl and seeking reinforcements. A balls to the wall R-rated actioner with Gillan, Lena Headey, Angela Bassett, Michelle Yeoh and Carla Gugino cast as trained killers fending off the threat of Paul Giamatti and his goons in prime scenery chewing form sounds like a hell of a good time, and having sat on the shelf for two years before finally debuting on Netflix, there’s every chance Gunpowder Milkshake could end up launching a multi-film series of its own, depending on who’s left standing when the credits roll.
