STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Morning * Monday Morning
Roy Pulver (Frank Grillo) is a former special forces operative, who wakes up every day to relive the moment he was killed at the hands of a group of assassins. After thwarting their efforts to kill him in various differing ways each day, he is left to retrace the events leading up to his death, calling in on his research scientist ex Jemma (Naomi Watts), who's discovered her boss, Colonel Ventor (Mel Gibson) is up to something dodgy, and may hold the key to his present predicament.
With a minimum of publicity, Boss Level, the latest film to explore the well trodden concept of time travel, arrives on Amazon. Director Joe Carnahan employs the same style he used in his previous Smokin' Aces, at least at the start, with a slick, snazzy visual style that jumps out and grabs you by the throat. The video game style 'Attempt No. ...' that spring up on the screen alluding to each effort to kill the lead character give a frivolous, throw away impression that conflicts tonally with the darker, more reflective feel the writing develops later on.
Cast wise, Russo has presence as a cynical, wise-cracking action hero, with the veneer of a modern day Bruce Willis, and he's matched by Gibson, who in his later years, employs the same zaniness and intensity that used to make the action heroes he played in his younger days so cool work well in villainous roles. The plot requires a bit of sticking with, but if you give it chance to develop, it emerges as more intelligent and considered than it at first seemed, even if it sadly does allow itself to meander away and drag on at the end.
It's Groundhog Day meets Kill Bill, basically, a worthwhile effort that, while maybe not quite the sum of its parts, is still a superior, above average film that is ultimately a pleasant surprise. ***
Roy Pulver (Frank Grillo) is a former special forces operative, who wakes up every day to relive the moment he was killed at the hands of a group of assassins. After thwarting their efforts to kill him in various differing ways each day, he is left to retrace the events leading up to his death, calling in on his research scientist ex Jemma (Naomi Watts), who's discovered her boss, Colonel Ventor (Mel Gibson) is up to something dodgy, and may hold the key to his present predicament.
With a minimum of publicity, Boss Level, the latest film to explore the well trodden concept of time travel, arrives on Amazon. Director Joe Carnahan employs the same style he used in his previous Smokin' Aces, at least at the start, with a slick, snazzy visual style that jumps out and grabs you by the throat. The video game style 'Attempt No. ...' that spring up on the screen alluding to each effort to kill the lead character give a frivolous, throw away impression that conflicts tonally with the darker, more reflective feel the writing develops later on.
Cast wise, Russo has presence as a cynical, wise-cracking action hero, with the veneer of a modern day Bruce Willis, and he's matched by Gibson, who in his later years, employs the same zaniness and intensity that used to make the action heroes he played in his younger days so cool work well in villainous roles. The plot requires a bit of sticking with, but if you give it chance to develop, it emerges as more intelligent and considered than it at first seemed, even if it sadly does allow itself to meander away and drag on at the end.
It's Groundhog Day meets Kill Bill, basically, a worthwhile effort that, while maybe not quite the sum of its parts, is still a superior, above average film that is ultimately a pleasant surprise. ***