Ever since the fabled John Wick graced the silver screen with its specific brand of revenge-seeking, blood-opera gun-fu back in 2014, the world has experienced a major uptick of imitation in its wake. The likes of Atomic Blonde, Maria, Polar, Equalizer, and an ocean of others have and continue to flood movie theaters and streaming platforms alike. And as with any crowded market, there too came the inevitable challenge of standing out, let alone receiving any sort of meaningful accolades. So then what is one to make of Netflix's two fairly recent and somewhat peculiar attempts: Gunpowder Milkshake and Kate? While both certainly bring their own unique spin to the genre, do they have what it takes to stand out in a blood spattered crowd? Let's get into it.
Kate (2021) is a dark, gritty tale of an orphan girl turned assassin named Kate (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) that gets fatally poisoned on the job. So now with only 24 hours to live, she sets her sights on finding out who ordered her hit and exacting her revenge. A thrilling premise with an even more thrilling ride, is the best summary I can give to this high throttled kill-fest. To speak to it quickly, Kate does not disappoint on delivery. Between brutal brawls and shootouts throughout inner city Tokyo, masterful cinematography, a simple but heartfelt story, and a pulsing pace that just doesn't quit, Kate shines among the ever mounting collection of bullet-hell blockbusters. Between this and Birds of Prey (2020) it appears Mary Elizabeth Winstead just may have solidified herself as a modern action staple. But can the same be said of the other gun-toting heroin in the room?
Gunpowder Milkshake (2021) is an action-comedy about an orphan girl turned assassin named Sam (Karen Gillan) that after a botched job, endeavors to pull off a make-up mission to re-earn her keep. But when she becomes compromised halfway through, she has no choice but to go on the run with an 8 yr old girl tagging along at her side. This here, in my eyes, is Dick Tracey meets John Wick with a hard feminine twist. It's bright, colorful, funny (at times), full of cartoonist/over dramatized characters, and all while still holding bountiful notes of John Wick action and violence. It's just a shame that it's only effective for about half the film. At that point, the film starts to get hampered by vastly slower pacing, flat acting, uninteresting action, and humor that barely garners crickets. And just to add a rotten cherry on top, it wasted a Michelle Yo casting, a most egregious cinema sin that can never be forgiven. In the end, it's a film with a hot-punch start that exponentially fizzles until it's whimpering, halfhearted end.
Now all of that is well and good. I mean, Kate is great. Not perfect, but great. And Gunpowder Milkshake is half a good flick with some heart. However, what's most interesting about them isn't necessarily their individual quality compared to one another, but rather everything else that makes them up. Because when you stack the movies side by side, looking past good, bad, thrilling, or boring, you just might find that these two movies are the EXACT SAME FILM. And I don't mean that they just happen to be absurdly similar. No. No. No. I am of the belief that these two films were originally conceived as one idea that ended up getting split into two films purposefully. Confused? Well, let's elaborate. But be warned, SPOILERS AHEAD. To avoid, skip 2 paragraphs.
When these two films were dubbed as peculiar earlier on, this … let’s call it a conspiracy … is what was being referred to. Now it isn't uncommon for movies in the same genre to utilize similar imagery, tropes, or story beats, but these two are almost in complete lock step with one another, even down the year of their release and their extensive use of neon lights in their trailers. But this isn’t just about a few minor details. It’s about the nitty gritty. Both of these 2021 Netflix Originals follow orphaned girls with surrogate father figures that raise them to be top tier assassins. Moreover, those father figures turn out to be one of, if not THE primary villain of the story at large. HOWEVER!!! Those same father figures are reluctant to see their proteges killed and would rather they return under their wing and resume their roles as daddy's favorite killer. Yes there is a difference in tone and the father-figures’ overall involvement, but the motivation and actions of the two are strikingly similar.
From there, let's look at the journeys of the heroines themselves. Both start the film on a mission that in some way goes sideways. The mistake made then causes a rift between the protagonist and their father figure as well as the seedy, overseeing organization. The father figure then warns the protagonist to stay in line or bad things could happen. The protagonist then goes on one more mission in hopes of smoothing things over. However, that also goes sideways in some fashion, setting the protagonist down a path of revenge against their father figure and their now ex-organization. And let's not forget that somewhere in that mix, the protagonist murders the father of a young female secondary character, who the protagonist then in turn shepherds around and protects the rest of the journey; a journey in which the protagonist will form a motherly bond with the child that they themselves were denied in their childhood. BUT WE'RE NOT DONE!!! Because eventually the little girl learns that the protagonist killed their dad in a past mission, which leads to a short stint of distrust that intimately gets resolved when the protagonist inevitably saves the child in the end from dire circumstances ... Oh! And in both instances the child takes a shine to the assassin-life and expresses desires or outright becomes an assassin themselves by the end of the film.
Now there are a slew of other in-movie examples that would hammer home this little theory, but you get the point already. But all that being said, it could still potentially be just very, absurdly random chance that these two films came out this way at the same time. And to play devil’s advocate for a moment, there are enough key differences to distinguish the two films. Kate is darker, gritter, faster paced, far more brutal, and takes itself abundantly seriously. Gunpowder Milkshake, in contrast, is brighter, sillier, more campy, and is far more overt with its themes and girl-power messaging, feeling and appearing much more like stage play rather than a film. But even with those differences, it just feels too damn coincidental. But beyond the question of “true or false,” the real question is “why?”
If I had to put any firm guess to it, I’d say Netflix is attempting to solve the endless and escalating problem of needing ever-newer content on the daily. Taking the bones of script and sending two teams off in different directions to make two different films does aid in that quest. And quite frankly, if that is what is going on here, that might not be half bad of an idea. The movies are different enough and at least from a production standpoint) are of quality, making them prime sacrifices to the hungry content consumer gods. Some might see it as lazy or uninspired, but in a world where all media platforms are putting out their versions of “insert popular IP here” and most entertainment is already a copy of a copy, or an homage of an homage, or a copy of an homage of a different copied homage, etc … I can’t blame Netflix for taking a few creative shortcuts, if that is what they are indeed doing. And hey! With whispers of other movies appearing to be of a similar circumstance on Netflix, this strategy may very well be the future for them, possibly even for all of streaming. Of course, it’s only conjecture, as this is only one sample standing next to unverified rumors of other potentially similar cases. There’s not a theorist alive that would rule this conspiracy as fact … at least not at this point.
A tantalizing mystery to be certain, but for the time being, let’s leave such rumors for another day. Besides, Kate and Gunpowder Milkshake will certainly bring enough entertainment and speculation to any one person for a while, I’m sure. So check them out, critique and compare, and decide for yourself if these neon, violent gun-girls are coincidental copycats or coordinated clones. The truth is out there.
Comments
Post a Comment