Boss Level

Starring: Frank Grillo, Mel Gibson, Naomi Watts, Will Sasso, Annabelle Wallis, Michelle Yeoh, Ken Jeong, Sheaun McKinney, Selina Lo, Rob Gronkowski
Directed by: Joe Carnahan
Rating: TV-MA
Genre: Action, Mystery, Science Fiction
2021

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A man (Frank Grillo) becomes trapped in a time loop where deadly assassins are hunting him down for unknown reasons.

Review:

Tim: I watched Boss Level to celebrate my 20th Anniversary of tracking movies with The Movie Files. I was glad to see that this Hulu original was a fun, enjoyable film. It wasn't great, but a movie I was glad I watched. Time loop movies are so interesting to me and I loved that hard action approach to this one. Joe Carnahan's film is entertaining, has a great cast, and it's a lot of fun. It's a movie worth seeing.

The film delivers a fairly solid science fiction story, but the reality is that it comes second to the pure enjoyment that comes from watching a trained killer dealing with the same assassins again and again and again. The story won't blow anyone's mind, but it holds up well enough with average scrutiny. It's solid enough that it allows you to worry less about the mechanics of the time loop and sit back and enjoy the ride. That's really what this movie is about and it's genuinely fun to see the protagonist reliving the same day over repeatedly. It does have a certain video game vibe to it. The film wears this heritage on its sleeve with its title. This blending of video game mechanics with a "realistic" story was a nice combination. The movie does a good job of replaying the day without it getting tiresome. Our hero makes different choices, which obviously influence the outcome of the day. This makes for compelling viewing, as we watch as he gets closer and closer to the truth.

The action is quite good here. Joe Carnahan has a solid action resume and translates that experience to this film. Whether we're seeing hand-to-hand combat, or a myriad of chase sequences, this movie puts the action front and center. The film has some nice character driven, emotional moments as well. I was surprised at some of the humor the movie delivers, too. A lot of this comes from the supporting character of Guan Yi, but the humor was consistent throughout the film. This is where a lot of the enjoyment comes from- Carnahan combines action, science fiction, some dramatic moments, and some humorous ones into a package that never takes itself too seriously. It's quite simply a fun movie to watch.

I really like Frank Grillo and I was so glad to see him in this role. The part plays to his strengths- he's able to do the action thing, but he's also able to instill some personality into the character as well. His comedic timing was solid. I really think Grillo should be a bigger star than he is. He was great fun to watch in this lead role. Mel Gibson didn't have a very big role, but he was appropriately sinister in his supporting turn. I do wish we got a bit more time with his character. I didn't have any issues with Gibson's performance, though. Naomi Watts felt like an unexpected but solid casting choice. Similarly to Gibson, I wish we got to see her do more. It was fun seeing Michelle Yeoh and Ken Jeong in smaller supporting roles. As I mentioned earlier, Selina Lo was a continuous scene-stealer with her humorous line delivery as Guan Yin ("I am Guan Yin, and Guan Yin has done this.") Will Sasso was unexpected in a solid supporting turn.

As a whole, Boss Level might not get close to greatness, but it was a fun, solid movie. The action is good, the story mostly makes sense, and it features a strong performance from Grillo as the lead. This wasn't a bad way to celebrate 20 years of watching movie.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: John Wick, The Purge: Anarchy, Edge of Tomorrow