Boss Level compensates for its overstuffed scenario and relentless derivativeness—actually, it makes you stop caring about its relentless derivativeness—with concentrated fast pacing and breakneck action.
Best action movie I've seen for some time. Funny, well written and directed. All actors were great but Mel Gibson added his special note and Frank Grillo was fantastic!
It’s bloody, brutal, stupid fun – until it isn’t. Either running out of ideas or running into budgetary problems, Carnahan slows things down about halfway in, stopping the madness in its tracks to give Roy some humanity (not needed here, but thanks!) and to give audiences some yadda-yadda villainy from a bored-looking, here-for-the-paycheque Gibson (also, no thank you!).
While Carnahan’s sense of humor has always been juvenile, in Stretch it at least benefitted from a gonzo factor and the crucial quality of having funny parts. Boss Level, however, is clumsy from the jump, with lame gags and a ceaseless, obtrusive voice-over that is always telling us why the next part is funny or what’s happening on screen (in case the viewer is distracted by their phone).
This is all passably satisfying, but would be vastly better if the screenwriters weren't lazily explaining every single detail in voiceover. Grillo generally excels as a man of few words, but here his disembodied voice is a wall-to-wall shag carpet, dampening the fun we'd be having if we could just focus on the mayhem Carnahan delivers.
Roy Pulver (Frank Grillo) steckt in einer Zeitschleife und erlebt denselben Tag immer wieder und wieder. Dabei jagen ihn immer wieder dieselben Auftragskiller und töten ihn. Dabei versucht Roy zu überleben und die Auftragskiller und dessen Chef Colonel Clive Ventor (Mel Gibson) zu töten.
Boss Level fokussiert sich darauf, die Zeitschleife zu beenden und gleichzeitig auch die Ursache dafür zu erklären. Die erste halbe Stunde geht dafür drauf, alles zu erklären und ist die größte Schwäche des Films. Dafür, dass der Film nur ca. 80 Minuten geht, passiert nicht gerade viel. Außerdem erklärt Roy und Zuschauer alles und bricht die vierte Wand. Was am Anfang noch in Ordnung ist, nervt ziemlich schnell. Während es in Filmen wie Deadpool lustig und unterhaltsam ist, nervt es hier nur und ist nur dafür da, um uns Zuschauer alles zu erklären. Die witzigen Momente entstehen, wenn Roy die anderen Killer umbringt und dabei Sprüche klopft. Frank Grillo spielt die Rolle super und wurde gut gecastet. Mel Gibson hingegen hat nichts Besonderes zu tun und erklärt nur seine bösen Taten. Ken Jeong und Michelle Yeoh sind kaum zu erwähnen, da sie kaum im Film vorkommen und keine wichtige Rolle spielen. Außerdem Yeoh für ein paar Minuten, die Szene hätte man, auch weglassen können. Am Ende kann man sagen, Boss Level ist ein durchschnittlicher Actionfilm, aber kein besonders guter Zeitschleifenfilm. Wenn man es hasst, wenn zu viel erklärt wird, wird den Film nicht mögen.
6/10
Boss Level is a typical action B-movie. A classic movie that tries to copy Groundhog Day throughout. Only Boss Level is about something else, first it's for a younger audience and more violent. A good cast with 2 great actors who have almost no time. In general, although the very idea of the film is not new, it is not poorly implemented. Do not get bored with repetitions of the same scenes, which are not poorly staged. Even the very idea of destroying the whole world looks funny and cringe. So bad, it's even good. Great good movie to watch for one time. The only thing that can disappoint is the open ending.
(Mauro Lanari)
"Groundhog Day" meets "John Wick" or "Crank" as action movie, "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" as apocalyptic movie, "Edge of Tomorrow" as sci-fi movie, 8-bit video games as playful experience vintage. In such multilevel speedrun the voice over overflows not only irony but reflective moments that, if they had been better developed, would have elevated the film to a completely different dimension ("Every Day Is Exactly the Same", Nine Inch Nails 2005).
Production Company
WarParty Films,
Scott Free Productions,
Emmett/Furla Oasis Films,
Big Red Films,
Diamond Film Productions,
Edver Films,
Georgia Film Fund 19,
Highland Film Group (HFG),
Ingenious Media,
Orca Entertainment Group,
Paradox Film Group,
River Bay Films,
The Fyzz Facility