Film Review: Land Of Bad

The awkwardly titled Land Of Bad is a fairly straight forward B-action movie, the kind you’d almost usually see these days with a much lower budget, and probably slated for the straight-to-VOD market. Not that it’s a bad thing, the VOD action scene has made some tremendous film over the past decade bringing a highlight to stunt coordinators and action designers that only recently become more celebrated in the mainstream thanks to the popularity of franchises like the John Wick series. While Land Of Bad is not a straight-to-VOD release, it does have some of that spirit in the same way the Extraction movies have, which funny enough, also stars a Hemsworth brother.

The film follows Sergeant JJ Kinney aka Playboy (Liam Hemsworth), who is a part of a covert extraction team that just landed in the Philippines. He keeps in touch with Captain Eddie Grimm aka Reaper (Russell Crowe), a drone pilot who is providing air support for the team. But when the mission goes totally haywire, Playboy ends up all alone, relying on Reaper’s guidance to stay alive long enough to be taken in by a rescue helicopter. But his journey will lead him through various militants who are eager to find him.

Yeah, basic setup, and the film delivers on everything you would want from this kind of movie, and nothing more. It’s not a very politically nuanced movie. Though, it doesn’t quite go full propaganda. Reaper is constantly at odds with the other officers at his base, who are too distracted by a basketball game to even keep an eye on the phone that he is expecting to ring with news of his wife going into labor, or God forbid any other kind of emergency. There is even some slight attention given to the way the film comments on the notion of war, how it differs between the ones who use drones vs the ones working on the ground. But as one of the soldiers mentions, at the end of the day, it’s man killing man.

These themes are largely superficial. It is mostly focused on creating suspense by following these characters as they try to stay alive, and how they deal with the complications that arrive along their journey. On that level, director and co-writer William Eubank delivers. The action set-pieces are really well crafted. The chaos is really felt, between the sound and aggressive camera work from cinematographer Agustin Claramunt. The gun fights have that a grounded style that keeps you on edge, feeling like you’re in the moment, and the use of slow motion highlights a lot of the smaller moments and cool imagery really well. I found it to be quite thrilling, even in the moments outside of these set-pieces whether it’s Reaper helping Playboy stay hidden, or in the later parts where Playboy gets stuck without a way to contact Reaper.

The performances are solid. Alongside Hemsworth and Crowe, we have the likes of Luke Hemsworth, Ricky Whittle, Milo Ventimiglia, Chika Ikogwe, and Robert Rabiah. The material doesn’t really give these actors much in terms of stretching their acting muscles. Hell, even Crowe spends most of the movie down and staring at a monitor. But for the demands of the film, they do a fine job, and they all carry themselves in the way they need in order for the story to resonate. I was especially surprised by Liam Hemsworth, who I haven’t been particularly impressed with before, but he holds his own here, especially in the action scenes. Certainly a far cry from his brief appearance in The Expendables 2.

Land Of Bad is a strong little action movie that isn’t going to change the game by any means, but if you want to watch an action movie that is more on the tactical, military side of things, this one gets the job done for sure. There isn’t much under the surface here, but the film also doesn’t overstay its welcome. It knows to keep things moving, and to get you in and out of the story as efficiently as possible, while also taking the time needed to make the story as impactful as it could be. It does feel like a throwback in some respects, and if that is something you are in the market for, I would recommend you look into this. It’s not something I would see myself revisiting over and over again, but I did have a good time while I watched it, and I admire the work that was put in by the actors and filmmakers to create that sense of tension and frenzy, which reflects on the experience of the characters. It definitely stands up to some of the awesome action movies we’ve gotten recently like Mayhem, The Beekeeper, One More Shot, and Badland Hunters.

 

Land Of Bad is now out in theaters.