A retired soldier finds himself trapped in
an endless time loop on the day of his death. ACTION/SCI-FI
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Boss Level (2021)Directed by Joe Carnahan
Written by Chris Borey, Eddie Borey, Joe Carnahan Starring Frank Grillo, Mel Gibson, Naomi Watts, Will Sasso, Annabelle Wallis, Michelle Yeoh, Ken Jeong, Selina Lo |
Hollywood has been trying to replicate Groundhog Day for years, with films like Edge of Tomorrow and Source Code, among others. But it never worked for a number of reasons, the chief one being you need to get absolutely batshit crazy with it. Plus, you need a charismatic, over the top lead who isn't afraid to make fun of himself. I present to you Frank Grillo, the soon-to-be king of ridiculous, almost laughable action movies. After killing it as Crossbones in the MCU, Grillo finds himself in the heroic role of Roy Pulver, a retired special forces operative trapped in a time loop that always ends with his death by assassins, then begins again over and over.
Roy isn't a great husband, and he's an even worse father. But for whatever reason, his brilliant wife Jemma (Watts) sees him as her salvation when her experiment is threatened by a sadistic would-be tyrant named Clive Ventor (Gibson, who was fairly underused, I thought). Due to her meddling, and a lot of spoilers, Roy is trapped in an endless day of dodging assassins and trying to stop the end of the world. But Roy has been in the loop for so long now that he no longer takes it seriously, which allows the audience to enjoy some hilarious moments of complete insanity. I didn't have particularly high hopes for Boss Level, which is odd because I like Frank Grillo and I've enjoyed Joe Carnahan's work thus far. I guess I just thought it looked too campy, and it certainly was, but that's what made it work. If it was too serious, the charm vanishes. Boss Level perfectly straddles the line, and delivers an entertaining as hell action comedy that ends with a brutal cliffhanger. |