Boss Level (2021) Review

“Boss Level” Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Joe Carnahan
Cast: Frank Grillo, Mel Gibson, Naomi Watts, Annabelle Wallis, Ken Jeong, Will Sasso, Selina Lo, Meadow Williams, Michelle Yeoh, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson
Running Time: 100 min. 

By Paul Bramhall

Opening with a shot of Frank Grillo’s (Jiu Jitsu, Beyond Skyline) character literally being chosen from a Streetfighter II style character menu, Boss Level starts as it means to go on, with Grillo abruptly being woken up by his bed companions scream as he narrowly dodges a machete. He barely has time to catch his breath after dispatching the assassin before a helicopter hovers in front of his window, and a guy armed with a Gatling gun proceeds to spray his apartment in a sustained barrage of bullets. Miraculously Grillo survives that attack as well, and soon enough he’s throwing himself out of his apartment window to the street below, where we quickly discover things aren’t going to get a whole lot easier.

Thankfully Grillo’s narration provides us with some context. We learn that he’s found himself waking up to the same day for, so far, 147 times (or ‘attempts’ as the text onscreen puts it). He doesn’t know why, but there’s a whole variety of characters out to kill him, with only the fact that he’s ex-special forces imbuing him with the skills to survive longer than the average Joe. When we meet him he’s gotten himself as far as about 1:00pm, and he’s gained an inkling that his predicament could have something to do with a shady scientific project his ex-partner (played by Naomi Watts – Eastern Promises, Mulholland Drive) was working on. The only problem is, she died in a freak accident yesterday (or as Grillo puts it, “yesterday was months ago”), so Grillo’s left with no choice – not only does he need to continue disposing of his constant stream of attackers, he also needs to try and get some answers out of them as well.

Taking the tried and tested Groundhog Day plot device is always a risk, but when it’s applied to the action genre the results have been consistently entertaining. From the likes of the 2013 Eric Jacobus directed short Rope a Dope, to big budget sci-fi with 2014’s Edge of Tomorrow, there’s something about the kinetic nature of the action genre which lends itself well to the premise, and Boss Level further proves that theory. One of two collaborations between director and star Joe Carnahan and Frank Grillo in 2021, the other being Copshop, both are no strangers to the action genre. Carnahan is the director behind the likes of Smokin’ Aces and The A-Team, while Grillo has proven his action chops in the Marvel Universe as Brock Rumlow, as well as facing off against Wu Jing as the villain in Wolf Warrior 2. I guess we can forgive that fact that both of them also once had their names attached to the American remake of The Raid.

Grillo feels underused in starring roles, point in question we had to suffer from the charisma deficient Alain Moussi in 2020’s Jiu Jitsu while he played a supporting role, or he’s left to co-star in sleepwalking Bruce Willis pay cheques like Cosmic Sin and Reprisal. Boss Level proves to be a worthy vehicle for his talents, bringing an undeniably masculine screen presence to a character who’s failed both as a partner and a father to his young son (played by his actual son, Rio Grillo, here making his acting debut), but who underneath his failings is fundamentally a good guy. As the narrator he brings a likeable charm to the role with just the right amount of humour, and even throws in an amusing dig at Liam Neeson, who he featured alongside in Carnahan’s The Grey.

It helps that he’s surrounded by a solid cast. I’d speculate that Carnahan’s a fan of Asian action cinema with the casting of Michelle Yeoh (Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy, Wonder Seven) as a “wudang Chinese sword master” who frequents a bar Grillo likes to (literally) down bottles of baiju in during a rare break from avoiding assassination attempts. Selina Lo (Triple Threat, The Debt Collector) is also on hand as a sword wielding assassin called Guan Yin, who ends each of her kills by declaring “I am Guan Yin, and Guan Yin has done this”, complete with a gust of wind to aesthetically blow her hair regardless of the environment. It’s worth mentioning that one of Grillo’s best laugh out loud lines has him riffing on Lo’s trademark quip, even though if you think about it for more than a second, it doesn’t actually make sense that he’d know it. Most contentious of course is the casting of Mel Gibson as the villain of the piece.

While Gibson remains a controversial figure, it can’t be argued that he always puts in a solid performance. His screen time here is limited, however when he’s in front of camera he chews the scenery and reminds us why his career has endured. It’s a long time ago though since he faced off against Jet Li in Lethal Weapon 4, so here Gibson leaves the heavy lifting on the action front to the rest of the cast, and there’s plenty of it. On fight choreography duty are Dan Rizzuto and Brian Sloyer, who both come with impressive resumes. Rizzuto was responsible for the fight action on the 2019 series Wu Assassins, while Sloyer was part of the fight team on the likes of Bloodshot and Aquaman. Also on board as stunt coordinators are frequent Carnahan collaborator Frank Torres (Reminiscence, Point Blank), Brian Simpson (Venom, Suicide Squad), and Denney Pierce (Furious 7, Rage), who together craft a number of impressive set pieces.

There’s a healthy balance between the practical and CGI, best highlighted in a car chase which sees Grillo being pursued by a pair of female assassins armed with everything from machine guns to rocket launchers. A vehicle during the chase itself is blown up for real sending it airborne, while during the end of the sequence Grillo’s use of the rocket launcher to blow up a stationery vehicle that sends it flying off the screen like a cartoon is CGI. For me this is the right way to incorporate CGI into action – during the chase itself the stunt work was done for real so as not to impact the integrity of the scene, whereas when the video game aesthetic used later switches to CGI, it’s no longer replacing something which could have been done for real, so it works. 

But most importantly, Grillo makes for a convincing anchor to hang off the healthy quota of action scenes. Feeling like a throwback to an 80’s era of machismo, the fact that he’s memorised almost every attack that comes in his direction makes him a uniquely world weary protagonist, mainly because the world in question is out to get him on every corner. His eventual ascent to Gibson’s terracotta warrior and guardian lion adorned headquarters makes for a final confrontation which is equal parts action packed and hilarious, however Carnahan takes a gamble by not having the expectedly explosive series of confrontations be the conclusion to the tale. 

Instead, he allows the story to conclude on its own terms, allowing it to take a breather from its own relentless pace, and providing Grillo with an opportunity to get to know the son he wasn’t there for in an attempt to make things right. In a lesser directors hands the extended conclusion could well result in Boss Level outstaying its welcome, however here it works surprisingly well, and after a relentlessly paced hour plus of action the concluding scenes inject a sense of poignancy into proceedings which wasn’t expected, but ends up being welcome. Ultimately leaving Boss Level feeling like a more well-rounded movie than it deserves to be, it’s a gamble that pays off.

In an action landscape which is becoming overpopulated by familiar tropes and recycled characters, Boss Level feels like a breath of fresh air, combining science fiction, action, and humour to create an entertaining 95 minutes (a line I’m sure Jiu Jitsu was hoping to emulate). The trio of Grillo, Carnahan, and Gibson are set to reunite once more for Leo from Toledo, so let’s hope it’s as entertaining as what they’ve produced here. Until then, Boss Level offers up exploding dwarves, revelations like how a grilled tongue tastes like steak, and an important lesson on the difference between a katana and a Chinese sword, what more do you need for a good time at the movies? 

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 8/10