Boss Level: Film Review

Cast: Frank Grillo, Mel Gibson, Naomi Watts

Director: Joe Carnahan

Rarely straying away from its Groundhog Day mixed with violence premise, Joe Carnahan's Boss Level is an exercise in pure machismo and blockbuster thrills.

When Roy (Frank Grillo) awakens every day, he finds himself in a time-loop with a a bevy of of assassins trying to kill him for reasons unknown. Rarely making it past 12.47pm each day, Roy starts to try and piece together what's happening - and why - before the clock claims him again....

It's not that Boss Level is a shallow film. 

In truth, from its opening moments of utter violence, complete with glob voiceover from Grillo, it's actually quite fun, unfussy and refreshingly frank about what it wants to do.

As each death transpires, Carnahan conducts an almost balletic symphony of stylised violence that's hypnotic to watch, and refreshingly simple in its complex execution. As the bullets fly, or the deaths unfurl, it's clear Carnahan is doing exactly what he wants and managing a series of Groundhog Day style montages that suit the tone of the film's MO.

But as it goes on, it becomes clearer that the deeper edges of the plot are tied up in the usual sci-fi tropes and little else. Which again, is perfectly fine, because over the 90 minutes, it's less a film about developing and the usual one about timeloops promoting a sense of personal growth and acceptance.

However, Boss Level is so joyfully executed and committed to screen that it would be churlish to deny its charms.

That's not to say it's not without flaws though.

Female characters are massively underwritten, and appear only as cyphers or objects of desire - even the female assassins are sexualised in some way or other. It's put through the male gaze in extremis and little else is afforded. Criminally Watts' scientist is so underwritten, she may as well not be anything more than a dollybird dumper of exposition as far as the script is concerned. It's almost laughable, if it wasn't so offensive.

Gibson delivers a cigar-chomping baddie with ease, spouting some abhorrences that feel almost nasty as the film goes on.

And Grillo makes good fist of the hero, a chiselled grizzled and wearied victim of circumstance heading out on the road to redemption via the usual means of the genre. But he makes it watchable thanks to a layer of machismo charm that's hard to deny.

All in all, Boss Level is popcorn guns-to-the-wall entertainment in extremis. Attempts at emotional depth are plumbed into the final third of the film, but by then, it's too little too late.

But as a statement of its premise, it's undeniably fun - in a disposable yet entertaining 90 minutes almost comic book package.