Former soldier Frank Grillo wakes up to find that he is living (or more accurately, dying) the same day over and over again. He is pursued by a gaggle of wildly different “bosses” who murder him in a number of violent ways. He eventually learns that the only way to stop the never-ending time loop is to save his scientist ex-wife (Naomi Watts) from being killed by her sadistic boss (Mel Gibson) who wants to use the time loop machine for his own devious aims.
Directed by Joe Carnahan, Boss Level is basically the action movie version of Groundhog Day. Or Edge of Tomorrow. Or Happy Death Day. Or Happy Death Day 2U. Or Lucky. Look, originality is not this movie’s strong suit. Normally, I take films to task for being repetitive, but that’s sort of this one’s M.O. As with those features, as the character repeats his day over and over again, he learns to be less selfish and begins to help others. Unlike Groundhog Day, this one has a lot of shootouts, decapitations, and scenes of Michelle Yeoh playing a Kung Fu sword master. Because of that, I dug it.
As far as those Emmett/Furla DTV actioners go (or in this case, DTH… which is short for Direct to Hulu), Boss Level feels the closest to being a real movie. That’s mostly because Carnahan is the goods. Even if the flick borrows heavily from other films, he is able to imbue it with a sense of fun, energy, and quirkiness.
The cast is solid, which helps tremendously. Watts’ character is mostly Ms. Exposition, but she and Grillo have enough chemistry for you to overlook some of her scientific gobbledygook-heavy dialogue scenes. Gibson has a few choice moments (although they are mostly weighted towards the beginning) and really seems to be relishing biting into the scenery.
Really, this is a tailormade vehicle for Grillo. He gives one of his best performances. He’s essentially a video game character and he certainly has the look for it. (I mean that in the best possible way.) However, he’s good enough to suggest the character is deeper than what’s on the surface when it suits, and has enough fun with the role to revel in the loonier aspects of what the script requires him to sometimes do.
The premise is little more than an “elevator pitch”. However, Carnahan keeps the momentum going at such a breakneck pace that it hardly matters. Sure, the characters may be stuck in a time loop, but the movie most assuredly doesn’t chase its tail.
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