Liam Hemsworth and Russell Crowe star in the militaristic thriller Land of Bad, a movie that delivers absolutely nothing new–but what it doesn’t do new it does well. About a soldier trapped behind enemy lines after a mission goes awry, Land of Bad boasts plenty of action and suspense, with clear good guys to cheer for and bad guys to wish dead.
From William Eubank, the director of the underappreciated thriller Underwater, Land of Bad is an effectively made action flick that checks all the right boxes. Hemsworth makes for a worthy protagonist while Crowe works well enough in a role that is hardly challenging for him but adds some credibility to the production.
More importantly, Land of Bad is tense from start to finish, though kudos to Eubank for taking his time in the beginning. He patiently sets the board before letting things go to hell. There’s nothing new to see here: elite soldiers go on a mission in the jungle, shit happens, and they desperately fight to escape against the odds. The villains are underdeveloped (the protagonists aren’t too far behind…ahead?) and simplistically bad men, but that’s OK because we all know what we signed up for.
Operating with a $19 million budget, Land of Bad thankfully punches above its weight. Even with Crowe involved, the movie could easily have been a direct-to-streaming throwaway. But it isn’t. The action is well staged, there are plenty of explosions and gunfights and the like, and in the end, Eubank has delivered an effectively badass little film.
Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.
