Movies about people stuck in time loops have always proven to be incredibly creative fertile ground, and while Bill Murray’s classic Groundhog Day wasn’t the first by any means, it usually tends to be the one used as a direct reference point for any subsequent project to tackle the same sort of basic premise.
In the last decade alone, we’ve seen the concept used to great effect in a number of scenarios, whether it be Duncan Jones’ thriller Source Code, Tom Cruise’s massively enjoyable sci-fi blockbuster Edge of Tomorrow, lo-fi indie mystery The Endless, Blumhouse’s Happy Death Day horror comedies or Palm Springs, one of the most acclaimed films of last year.
Joe Carnahan and Frank Grillo have now exploded onto the scene to apply the time loop to an action pic, and the balls to the wall first trailer for Boss Level is here for your viewing pleasure. Grillo stars as a retired special forces solider who keeps getting killed over and over again, but as he slowly acquires more and more skills during his infinite existence, he puts them to good use and sets out to stop Mel Gibson’s bad guy, rescue his estranged wife and ultimately save the world.
Boss Level wrapped shooting way back in May 2018 and Hulu shelled out eight figures to secure distribution rights in November of last year. It arrives on March 5th and marks the director/star duo’s fifth collaboration in some capacity. It certainly won’t be the last one, either, after they co-founded production company Warparty Entertainment back in 2016.
Carnahan is no stranger to gritty and scuzzy B-movies, and Grillo is arguably action cinema’s best kept secret when the shackles are taken off, and so far, Boss Level is looking like a deliriously entertaining high concept showcase for the leading man.