Movie Review - Boss Level

We have yet another one! Ever since Groundhog Day (1993) popularized the idea, we've seen an increasing number of properties use the premise of that 1993 classic. That premise is having a person stuck in a time loop where they are literally repeating the same 24 hours over and over again. Since the year 2000, the number of films and TV shows doing that premise has only increased where it's like we're getting a time loop story once every year, sometimes twice a year, as was the case in 2020. If one wants to be technical, this film, directed and co-written by Joe Carnahan, is the second film released this year to be a time-loop story. The Obituary of Tunde Johnson (2021) is technically the first time-loop film of the year. That film premiered in 2019 and has been playing at film festivals throughout 2020, but it was finally made available more widely this year.

In Groundhog Day, the protagonist would go to sleep and wake up, having time-traveled backwards 24 hours to relive the same day and same events all over again. Since Source Code (2011), the idea was introduced to make the time-loop a thriller where the protagonist dies and his or her death triggers the reversal of time. Edge of Tomorrow (2014) took that death aspect and made it an action-adventure tale where the protagonist had to find a way to stop himself from getting killed. Happy Death Day (2017) seized upon that aspect too but made it a slasher film where the protagonist not only had to stop herself from getting killed but determine who was trying to kill her and why. Carnahan has seemingly taken bits and pieces from those aforementioned films and mashed them together for this Groundhog Day genre film, which also cribs a lot from video games.

Frank Grillo (The Purge: Anarchy and Captain America: The Winter Soldier) is a 55-year-old action star or at least his career over the past decade has leaned more heavily on him being an action star. It's funny because this film references Liam Neeson in Taken (2009), which re-established Neeson as an action star too, which wasn't his persona or perception prior. It was remarkable because Neeson was also in his 50's when he pivoted to action films. Neeson's pivot though kicked off a trend of films starring men, particularly white men, over the age of 50, being action stars and doing intense action stunts. Grillo worked with Neeson in the wake of this in Carnahan's The Grey (2012), so Grillo seems primed to join the ranks of action stars who defy their ages.

Grillo is even more primed than Neeson because Grillo is more of a beast. If he weren't already in a super-hero film, one would think he deserves to be in one. If he weren't already in a martial arts film, one would think he deserves to be one. At 55, Grillo has a better muscular physique than a lot of actors 20 years his junior. Ripped and chiseled doesn't even begin to describe his incredible form and he certainly puts in on display here as Roy Pulver, a former soldier in the U.S. Army. He says he was in Delta Force, which represents the best the U.S. Army has to offer. All those particular set of skills come in handy because he wakes up to find that a series of assassins have been sent to kill him. It's a diverse set of assassins and each comes one after the other, which is ridiculous and only stands because Carnahan is really cribbing from the fact that Roy is nothing more than a video game character who has to fight to survive. Roy might as well as be Pac-Man and the assassins are the colorful ghosts from that arcade classic.

Mel Gibson (Braveheart and Lethal Weapon) co-stars as Colonel Clive Ventor, a wealthy man who owns Dynow Laboratory. Despite being a laboratory, it doesn't seem to employ many scientists. What he does employ are those series of assassins whom he sends to kill Roy. It's appropriate that his company is called Dynow because it sounds like "die now," which is what the Colonel wants for Roy. The reveal of why he's doing it is the very definition of overkill. It's over-the-top and seemingly so unnecessary. Arguably, the motivations in Happy Death Day are silly and made no sense as they were just lame ways to propel the action. However, Gibson leans into the silliness. His sidekick, Brett, is played by Will Sasso, a recognizable, comedic actor, so Carnahan is embracing that silliness in some respects.

That silliness comes through in the action and how it's depicted. For starters, all the action is accompanied with voice-over narration or a running monologue that's mostly sardonic and wry. There is a definite sense of humor. A lot of the action is brutal but done in a cartoon way that's meant to make it comparable to the video game action that we see in an arcade scene. The tone is such that sets it apart from something like John Wick (2014), which does have similar gun violence scenes, but Carnahan's tone isn't as dead serious. There's also a more heartfelt and sensitive aspect where Grillo incorporates his real-life son to play his fictional son here. It elevates this material above something like Happy Death Day in that regard.

Rated TV-MA-LVS.

Running Time: 1 hr. and 34 mins.

Available on Hulu.