Boss Level

A inoffensive combination of Frank Grillo, action carnage and a fresh mix of Edge of Tomorrow style and arcade gameplay with a shoot through to the final boss. Perhaps a bit of a shame that the action didn't step on the gas more, that Mel Gibson didn't have a more prominent villain role, and that there's 20 minutes of conservative love story filler and emotional wringing from the father-son bond, but otherwise I enjoyed the film in places. Nothing groundbreaking, but it's still one of those less annoying action B-movies. (01/20/2023)

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)

Boss Level is a sufficiently fun and humorous action movie about a time loop, but after this year's refreshing Palm Springs, I found it a bit low for this subgenre. Mel Gibson needed more room to act, he practically enters to reel off a typically antagonistic monologue, but then he just turns up sporadically here and there during the rest of the movie. No epic "boss fight" takes place in the final. When the closing credits start to roll, you expect them to stop and the actual final scene to appear. But it never comes. In the end, the highlight of the movie is actually the bonding of the main character with his son, but for most of the rest, including the comically diverse minibosses, this movie is quite forgettable. However, it is quite a decent watch for what it is, but just not as good as it could and should be. (11/27/2020)

It’s a bit of a shame that Mel Gibson plays the bad guy here, but on the flip side, Frank Grillo fits the hero role perfectly. I’ve always seen him as more of a supporting actor, but here he absolutely nails it as the action hero caught in a time loop. Speaking of time loops, they never seem to get old, do they? Boss Level ends up being one of the most entertaining action flicks in recent months. The action is top-notch, the story is classic, but you’ll love the creative twists the filmmakers have thrown in. (06/16/2021)

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)