Land of Bad
Land of Bad
Starring Liam Hemsworth, Milo Ventimiglia, Russell Crowe, Luke Hemsworth
Directed by William Eubank
When a U.S. Army Delta Force team infiltrates a compound in the Philippines to rescue a high value asset, they come under attack which leaves JTAC officer Kinney (Liam Hemsworth) running for his life. He communicates with Reaper (Russell Crowe), a USAF drone pilot who provides air cover for his escape and eventual retrieval, but things go wrong when he comes under attack when he's about to get out. Stuck behind enemy lines, Kinney relies on Reaper to be his eyes and ears from above as he re-enters the belly of the beast to rescue his captive teammates and rescue the asset before they're all assassinated.
The Good:
The action is intense, with epic shootouts and explosive drone strikes that keep your attention from start to finish - something you'd expect from a film of this caliber. It keeps you riveted with the tense atmosphere that'll keep you on the edge of your seat as you follow Kinney's (mis)adventure to get home.
Liam Hemsworth proves himself every bit an actor as his brother Chris as Kinney, a man who is outside his element and finds himself under attack as he struggles to get back home. He is a deeply profound character that we get to know intimately as he traverses the unforgiving Philippine jungle to reach the extraction point, all the while anticipating the next ambush that could be his last.
Russell Crowe serves as the perfect fodder for Kinney's character as the eccentric Reaper, a man who controls the drone that keeps Kinney safe from above. He's no-nonsense, having been married four times, and eagerly awaits his new child's birth - all the while steadfast in his mission to protect Kinney and get him back home. He bucks the leadership and flies off the handle in the most hilarious and heartfelt ways possible, and gives one of his best performances in recent memory.
The tension is amped from the start, as the ragtag team of four men enter enemy territory against a seemingly insurmountable amount of bad guys who want them dead, and keeps your attention easily. The action -as I said earlier - is strong and pulse-pounding, and the human story behind it is equally as moving.
The cinematography is excellent and the editing is fascinating, particularly near the end when we see Kinney and his struggles juxtaposed with an American man shopping in a grocery store without a care in the world, and how jarring these two parallels are. Both are happening at the same time, and yet it feels totally disjointed, showing the power war has on a man and the lengths they go to make sure we can live our mundane lives.
The Bad:
The last half drags in certain moments and it could've been better if it cut about twenty minutes from the story, as it recycles itself in the third act.
The concept of plot armor is strong in the film, which means there's events where the character should be dead but due to the script he manages to survive the impossible. It's laughable in how absurd it is and detracts from the story, which is sad because up until that point the film provided enough realism to get on our good graces, only to take it away with these confusing moments that clearly exist to illicit excitement but instead was met with groans.
The Summary:
While providing the pulse-pounding action of a war movie about a man caught behind enemy lines, "Land of Bad" is hampered in its final act with a repetitive story and plot armor strong enough to take down a bull elephant, but thanks to Liam Hemsworth and Russell Crowe it doesn't make it a complete joke.
The Score: B+
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