Ex-special forces operative Roy Pulver (Frank Grillo) is stuck in a time loop on the day that he dies. Can he work out why a disparate group of elite assassins keep killing him and get out of the loop?

Boss Level wears its computer game inspiration on its sleeves and opens with 8 bit graphics inspired credits and even includes a father/son bonding session in an underground gaming hang out. The premise is simple, Roy wakes one morning to an assassin trying to kill him with a machete, once he gets past him he faces another, then another. Can he get to the boss level and win his freedom? 

We are treated to an on screen counter of the attempt number and a voiceover from Roy explaining how he got here and providing humour to some of his less successful attempts. And humour and fun are a huge part of this film. We are encouraged to laugh a lot at Roy’s misfortunes. Whether that be a mistimed jump or a poorly thought out strategy it will end badly for him, but as with any game repetition will hone those skills. 

There is a larger story of course and the film slows down on a couple of occasions to flesh out what there is of it. We are introduced to Roy’s ex-wife Jemma (Naomi Watts) who is working on a top secret science project for Colonel Ventor (Mel Gibson) whose beard is so pointy he just may be evil! We also see the likes of Michelle Yeoh and Ken Jeong pop up in small recurring roles. 

Frank Grillo absolutely nails the tone of the movie as well. He is probably most famous for his appearances in Marvel films as Captain America antagonist Brock Rumlow/Crossbones and his prolific output in straight to DVD action flicks. Here he has the physique of a computer game action hero, seriously how on earth does someone get a body like that? But he also has the action chops and comic timing to inject energy and fun into the story. 

Writer/director Joe Carnahan who has made the likes of Narc, The Grey and The A-Team is known for his testosterone fuelled films but it is nice to see a sense of humour injected in a more successful manner. 

It is not ground breaking but it is lots of fun.