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)

A tight action B-movie with a time loop reminiscent of a video game with the excellent Frank Grillo, who has quite possibly the best performance of his career. The main character wakes up every morning with a bunch of assassins trying to kill him for reasons unknown, and when he fails, his day resets again. Very entertaining and playfully with lots of ideas, fine lines, and decent action, even though there are no proper fights or shootouts, it's mostly very spectacular and quick disposals, but it doesn't matter too much. Mel Gibson and Naomi Watts are just for show, but even in such a small space Mel managed to impress me, especially with his story with the snake. Good fun. Story****, Action****, Humor****, Violence***, Entertainment****, Music***, Visuals****, Atmosphere****, Suspense****. 8/10. (11/24/2020)

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)

Carnahan’s early Xmas gift to connoisseurs. Even though this is rather a cheap, nostalgically bloody production with just average special effects and an uncomplicated, nineties story, it has so many nods and so much self-parody that it’s easy to forgive. The time loop is the catalyst, but Boss Level is more about love of action, old video games and family. Frank Grillo is great as both ultimate killer and caring father. He reels off great one-liners, one after another, so you can’t help but root for him. Gibson enjoys himself greatly in the role of colonel with a savior complex who likes listening to himself speak. Naomi Watts manages to chisel out the most complex of characters in just two scenes. Great fun, but I’m very sad that I won’t be able to see it in the movie theater, thanks to Covid. There's something I don't like about him. He has that... trait. ... The overachiever who makes up for a lack of talent with hustle. (11/23/2020)

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)