Boss Level

• Directed by Joe Carnahan
• February 11, 2020 (Los Angeles) / February 25, 2021 (Australia) / March 5, 2021 (US)

A former special forces soldier must escape a time loop that always ends in his death by learning who is after him.

For years Hollywood has been trying to bring videogames to the big screen with varying degrees of success. Boss Level is no adaptation of a game but feels like a game. It gets into dying out of boredom, goofy yet fun opponents, and picking up on clues that the game designers sprinkle during play as you make your way to the main threat.

This engages in moments of black comedy. The action is highly choreographed often with punchlines in that it shares many similarities to guilty pleasure action films of the 80s. It is an entertaining action film. And at 90 minutes they don’t waste time with too much extraneous. This is a fun movie that takes itself seriously enough without being too serious.

Mel Gibson is not the star he once was though he still has the talent. I guess that is what happens when you get all racist with a cop while calling her sugar tits. As Colonel Clive Ventor, the main villain, he has that right level of crazy and moustache twirling evil to equal the over-the-top heroics of Frank Grillo.

Ventor dreams of power and that’s really all you get about him. A bit stuck on himself but beyond that there are not details on the project or in-depth information. It at 90 minutes it gives you enough to get you through the movie. The under utilized economy of storytelling.

Frank Grillo as the hero Roy Pulver brings the right level of flare and emotion to the part. Pulver is a part that requires not only the physicality to pull it off but the right star to sell it. Grillo is clearly having fun. There is a lethal insanity to his performance with him pulling off the part of being a bad ass. He just keeps coming and coming.

Pulver’s emotional moments work. He is a deadbeat father who realizes he made some huge mistakes by choosing his profession over his family. He comes off as believable. Grillo in his few moments with Naomi Watts as Pulver’s scientist ex-wife Jemma Wells makes you feel the two could be a pair. So much of this movie depends on the star and Grillo was an ideal choice.

Even though the situation is very Happy Death Day, the drives of Pulver are understandable. Aside from wanting to get out of this time loop, Pulver wants to reconnect with his child and fix a relationship with his love. Also like in the aforementioned movie it is necessary for Pulver to find answers to the mystery.

Pulver faces off against a series of colorful assassins that lean into the semi-themed characters one fights in a side scrolling videogame which the fights allude towards. The intervening fights are ridiculously excessive yet serve as moments of learning like in a game that you need to ply repeatedly to beat. We even get some side quests that aid in the completion.

One of the treats for me were the supporting cast. They show up just enough to add a little razzle-dazzle but never overstay their welcome. Ken Jeong is Chef Jake, Will Sasso is Ventor’s security goon Brett, Selina Lo is the pre-boss level villain Guan Yin, Michelle Yeoh as Dai Feng from whom Pulver learns the skills to defeat Guan Yin, and Rob Gronkowski of all people as the Helicopter Gunner. Nobody overstays their welcome. They remain long enough to support the greater story and move on. Even Michelle Yeoh whose star is brighter now than in some time is never on too long. She is there only slightly more than Gronkowski!

Boss Level has enough action and enough jokes that you could watch this again and again. It is exciting and just fun.