Starring: Frank Grillo, Naomi Watts, Mel Gibson

Directed by Joe Carnahan

Hulu, available now

Roy Pulver finds himself caught in a time loop with people trying to kill him – and succeeding…

The trailer for this mesh of Groundhog Day and Edge of Tomorrow – some of the sentimentality of the former; the repetitive violence and perseverance of the latter – perhaps not too surprisingly gives away a lot of the plot, given that there are so many repeats of sequences. Once you’ve seen Frank Grillo’s Pulver avoid decapitation, a helicopter gunship, smashing into a bus and changing gears like he’s in a Fast & Furious movie on speed for the fifth time, you more than get the picture. There’s some decent gags in the various attempts along the way but it’s only really when Pulver starts to take control and doesn’t just dive inside a bottle of liquor that the story gets going.

We get a nice montage as he learns how to swordfight, and a lull in the action as we see him get to know his son. There’s also a flashback that shows some of the set-up and allows Mel Gibson the chance to do more than just get shot or attacked – although given all his character does is pontificate, you may not be too bothered. When Pulver learns a key piece of information, his mission changes – and there is a certain visceral satisfaction in how he deals with certain elements.

Carnahan frames this as an old-style video game, right from the opening “choose player” screen, and keeps the action flowing fluidly. Naomi Watts is underused as the scientist responsible for the time loop – and Pulver’s ex – while the script, by Carnahan and Chris and Eddie Borey, fills out the dialogue with expletives.

Verdict: Some very dark humour enlivens a sometimes unevenly paced time travel tale. 6/10

Paul Simpson