BOSS LEVEL
Roy Of The Over and Over
RELEASED OUT NOW! 2020 | 15 | SVOD
Director Joe Carnahan
Cast Frank Grillo, Mel Gibson,
Naomi Watts, Rio Grillo
Belatedly arriving over here with timing that guarantees comparisons to Free Guy, Boss Level is Groundhog Day if the Bill Murray movie had required a small army (81 – we counted) of stunt performers.
Former special forces guy Roy (Frank Grillo, who was clearly working out through all those Purges) wakes up to a machetewielding assassin and a helicopter pumping lead into his flat. It’s just the first of a series of attacks that he’s now thoroughly blasé about, having already lived this day 138 times. Slowly, he begins to piece together the connection to a machine his ex-wife was working on, and a route to saving her – and the world. Cue hyperbolic videogame-style action.
Gleefully cartoonish (every assassin has a gimmick), studded with gags that inspire a wincelaugh, and soundtracked by ’70s rock cuts, Boss Level has a strong whiff of Tarantino – Mel Gibson’s antagonist character gets a speech that’s pure QT.
When death has no meaning it’s easy for an audience to become disengaged, but as well as spitting out laconic wisecracks Grillo manages to infuse a little heart as the flawed yet likeable Roy. Good luck working out how the hell the hi-tech Macguffin behind it all operates, though – it’s very poorly explained. Ian Berriman
The day that Roy is endlessly repeating, 9 May, is also director Joe Carnahan’s birthday. What are the odds?