Boss Level

Boss Level is a bit of a mixed bag for me. The theme is seriously worn out, but hey, all the action and fight scenes were shot brilliantly, and the main character's quips were pretty funny, so as an action flick, it'd get a solid four stars from me. However... the creators didn't stop there. They delved into a philosophical and psychological defense of life's true values, forcing the viewer to activate at least a part of their brain from relaxation mode. And right at that moment, the film stopped working for me because, in my opinion, it didn't need to be more than a straightforward action joyride. That cost it two stars. As an action romp with undemanding humor, 4 stars; with all those pontifications and Mel Gibson's drawn-out fable about a boar and a snake, just 2*+. (05/16/2022)

Original, fast-paced, fun. Understandably, it doesn't surpass the conceptually similar Edge of Tomorrow, the plot is too trivial for that, but that was not the intention. Carnahan sets the viewer on a sarcastic note from the start and doesn't take his foot off the gas until the very end, which is appropriately weird. The buffed-up Grillo shows that he can be a pretty likeable dad in addition to a perfect figure, so for daring to take his acting creations a step further, it's definitely a thumbs up. Gibson, meanwhile, plays his grizzled bad-ass standard of recent years. (12/11/2020)

For B-movie silliness with a video-game concept, Boss Level has a surprisingly fresh and imaginative screenplay with twists that take the story clichés twice as far in the plot as you would expect. And with a lot of original funny moments. Non-stop entertainment with a pleasantly light tone that (thank God) doesn’t take itself seriously at all. (12/12/2020)

What a bolt from the blue! Seriously, I hadn’t heard anything about this film, and suddenly—bam!—it’s the B-movie of the year, without a doubt! In the current not-so-optimistic climate where new films are scarce, I enthusiastically welcomed this creation from the skilled filmmaker Joe Carnahan. Visually, it’s a cheap B-movie straight out of the '90s, the kind that would land on DVD shelves. But the energy radiating from every frame and the simple, dry humor of the main character surprisingly worked wonders for me. Frank Grillo can definitely mark this film as a successful notch on his belt, and it might even be his best work in Hollywood. He’s incredibly charismatic and ripped (it’s a shame he isn’t, say, 10 years younger)! The story doesn’t offer any surprises; it borrows a lot from other films dealing with the repeating-day concept, but the comedic element really saves it. There are moments where you’ll genuinely laugh from the heart, take my word for it. It also includes some quite surprising twists within the limits of its screenplay. I’ll definitely revisit it; such a cheap yet successful little film is not something you see every day. For me, it’s a strong 7/10. (11/25/2020)

The story looks like it was written by two 10 y.o. boys and Joen Carnaham helped them to turn that into a script. Even if that was the case, it would be fine, really, because Boss Level is mostly good fun (I’m seriously lacking comedies among the genres) with only the occasionally unlikeable Frank Grillo. (03/31/2023)