Joe Carnahan’s 2002 debut feature “Narc,” which starred Ray Liotta and Jason Patric, is still his best movie, followed closely by the Liam Neeson wolf adventure “The Grey.” I wouldn’t put anything else he’s done in a category with those, but there are minor merits to be had in other Carnahan-directed movies such as “Smokin’ Aces,” “The A-Team” and, particularly, “Stretch.”
With that being said, although very much a Carnahan film through and through, the recently-released “Boss Level” is quite the stinker. Here another movie using the tired-old time-loop trope popularized by “Groundhog Day” 27 years ago. This past year’s “Palm Springs” playfully turned the time-loop genre over its head, refusing to adhere, in the conventional sense of the term, to any of the tropes that usually come with it. The year before that, Netflix’s “Russian Doll” managed to bring a meta-awareness to the circular narrative. Carnahan brings nothing new to the table here.
The unlucky person stuck in a time loop here, constantly repeating the day of his murder, is former special forces agent Roy Pulver (a playful Frank Grillo). He wakes up every morning, dodging a machete-carrying attacker, and hiding behind his couch as a machine gun-touting baddie in a helicopter pulverizes his apartment. That’s the easy part. After hundreds of attempts (and fails) Roy is now successful at getting out of his apartment. The real issue for him are the countless attempts to assassinate him, by numerous baddies who seem to be showing up everywhere he goes.
As Roy conjures up attempt after attempt to figure out why he’s in this never-ending loop, Carnahan has the most fun with his narrative during this first hour. Grillo playfully assumes the role of buffed-up hero. It’s a performance that never takes itself or the movie it’s in so seriously, making great use of the actor’s imposing physique and his streetwise sense of humor.
Eventually Roy uncovers clues about a secret government project that could unlock the mystery of his ordeal. Mel Gibson shows up as baddie Colonel Ventor (Mel Gibson), the powerful head of the government program — it turns out he’s the guy sending the skilled assassins against Roy. This is where the film starts to break down. I started getting restlessly annoyed when Carnahan started to actually take his movie seriously at about the half-way mark. Whatever adrenaline-pumping momentum that may have been built up is stonewalled with unnecessary exposition and a miscast Gibson showing up as the antagonist.
Carnahan’s sense of humor has always been immature. In “Boss Level”, this unlikable trait of his is repeated ten-fold. It doesn’t help the screenplay is filled with obnoxiously interfering voice-over that always seems to be telling the viewer what to expect next. The element of surprise is stripped away. I’m not too keen in being told what to think by a narrator in a film, it feels like you’re being spoken down to.
I always found Carnahan to be a decently talented pulp-influenced director — In fact, he's amassed quite a following these last few years. Good on him; His style is strongly influenced by both Tarantino and Michael Bay, but he still manages to bring out his own voice into the mix. He’s almost like a 21st century Peckinpah but injected with a mass amount of unnecessary steroids. The Peckinpah similarities do get enhanced once you learn that Carnahan also likes to describe himself as a " functioning alcoholic.” And yet, not much functions in “Boss Level.”
SCORE: C
The man doesn't stop. James Gunn has confirmed he's already hard at work writing his next film, even as ‘Man of Tomorrow’ makes its way toward theaters next summer.