Movie Review – Boss Level (2021’s Groundhog Day Loop film)

As the queen of Groundhog Day (GHD) time loop movies, of course I viewed and reviewed Boss Level. It’s only viewable on Hulu. This is too bad, because in a normal (ie, not CoVid year) this would be a crowd-pleasing blockbuster on the big screen. Seriously, Boss Level is a fantastic actioner that’s more comedic than Edge of Tomorrow, and more gripping than last summer’s Palm Springs — both of which are GHD films that rate an A+ in my book.

Is Boss Level funny? YES. Is the story sensible, knowing we’ve seen this kind of thing before? Double yes. I’m bummed it can’t get the viewership it deserves. I’ll encourage everyone to sign onto Hulu for a month and view this enchanting take on repeating time loops right now. Go, do it. I’ll wait.

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Something that matters to me, as a film reviewer, is how I feel while watching the story. About a third of the way watching Boss Level, I realized I was loving…well, everything in the movie. This doesn’t happen every day.

It’s hard to get a new take on the Groundhog Time Loop story right, to feel fresh and new. I’ve seen GHD movies that find their way in various genres, somehow managing a fresh new POV while repeating the same day over and over. And over. And over…

Boss Level captures the exciting action from Edge of Tomorrow, the light joy of Palm Springs, the comedic horror from Happy Death Day, and the dark class of Russian Doll. What they all lack are the philosophical underpinnings of the original Bill Murray Groundhog Day film, but that’s a hard bar to clear.

I’d suggest that if you enjoyed Tom Cruise’s Edge of Tomorrow, but might want a little more comedy in your first-person shooter action-based time loop story, then this is your film.

What else should we know about Boss Level?

The classic rock track adds to the fun, reminding me of Guardians of the Galaxy. Always a good thing. You can make yourself a cool new playlist.

The assassins are completely adorable video-game type wackjobs — appropriately, since the main baddie specifically asks for the more bizarre end of bounty-hunter-ism to off our hero. They keep getting weirder with each ‘Level, ‘ until we meet our ‘Boss.’

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One thing I wasn’t excited about was Mel Gibson’s big ultimate villain. Nothing he did fit into the tone of the film. Fortunately, his role was essentially a cameo to get a big name on the marquee. His henchmen were more watchable and fun.

Did things work out well in the end? What do you think? Surprisingly, it’s not hard to get a GHD time loop story right, if you follow the well-worn tropes.

You don’t even have to tell the audience why the loop happened or how the protagonist escapes (again, see the classic Groundhog Day). In the case of Boss Level, you get a reasonable explanation/resolution, with plenty of clues if you want to figure it out. But that doesn’t matter at all, since watching each death, over and over, is why this story is so enjoyable.

Recommended on so many levels. Even a boss level. Top-notch GHD fun.

Grade: A+

About The Peetimes: Here are 2 good Peetimes to choose from. Both are Recommended, but the 1st doubles as an Alert notice due to a bizarre, nasty vibe in an otherwise super fun film. Anyway: this movie is streaming on HULU and, as far as we know, isn’t showing in theaters. But we did Peetimes for it anyway… Because we care!

There are extra scenes during, or after, the end credits of Boss Level. (What we mean by Anything Extra.)

Rated (PG-13)
Genres: Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Movie Released: 2021-04-05

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Jill Florio

Co-Creator of RunPee, Chief of Operations, Content Director, and Managing Editor. RunPee Jilly likes galaxy-spanning sci fi, superhero sagas, fantasy films, YA dystopians, action thrillers, chick flicks, and zany comedies, in that order…and possesses an inspiringly small bladder. In fact, that little bladder sparked the creation of RunPee. (Good thing she’s learned to hold it.)