I put up a post today called "Redux - Not Dead Yet!" [0], where I responded to recent comments claiming that the new context API will replace Redux. (Answer: maybe, if all you need is just passing down data to deeply nested components.)
As for the "boilerplate" topic: you are encouraged to use as little or as much abstraction on top of Redux as you want, whether it be small utility functions or entire other frameworks that wrap Redux. We've got a "Reducing Boilerplate" page in the docs [1], and I've got a section of my React/Redux links list for articles on that topic [2].
I'd be happy to suggest possible solutions for whatever problems you're concerned about.