There are two protagonists in the annoying military actioner ‘Land of Bad’ and one of them is better than the other. While attempting to execute one such successful hostage extraction, both the protagonists are fighting some head cutting terrorists who in the earlier scenes talk about the world and the differences between them and their enemies.
The only suggestion to make this better is to ditch everything else and focus on Kinney who is the ‘Air Force Sergeant J.J. “Playboy” Kinney’ (Liam Hemsworth). J.J Kinne has been portrayed proficiently by Liam Hemsworth a capable man who gets things done because action movies do not simply rely on dummies. His other cast, Russel Crowe has been in the division however; it is hard to enjoy Crowe engaging in an irritating character even though he is not lazy. ‘Captain Eddie “Reaper” Grimm’ aka the second hero is what Crowe plays. Commander Kinney gets bombarded with missiles just to make sure he does not get infiltrated by the terrorists before being captured himself.
Crowe is at his best with his living cartoon persona a head full of hair sitting in front of screens that are impeccably lit and trying to get even the silliest of things ‘ba-da-boom’ over. His “wing-lady” who happens to shine in this one is Staff Sergeant Nia Branson played by Chika Ikogwe. Less veil of sympathy can be seen on Grimm when he is explicitly making the movie’s cringeworthy point, regarding the military’s incapacity to back even fairly skilled and competent individuals like Grimm himself who struggles for recognition. “Land of Bad” might be marketed as a post ‘Black Hawk Down type of rescue mission with rescue themes’ but really, it’s largely about a poorly delivered message concerning America’s military and its connections to modern combat.
As Kinney’s Shadow Operative and chief of Hemsworth the Overwhelmed but Competent Soldier, Grimm takes charge of the operation while they search for a high-priority hostage that has been reported missing. A CIA infiltrator who has been conducting surveillance on a terrorist Russian weapons supplier. That has no significance anyway once Kinney’s squadry comes into actual contact with enemies who are, as narrated in the ironical opening footage of the movie, among ‘ the most violent extremist groups in the southern region of Asia and the Indian peninsula.
In the film, “Land of Bad”, the filmmakers seem to temper the violence of the swarms by projecting them as mere covetousness to Kinney, only to put in a few flashes in the middle that narrate why they are the ultimate scourge. The bad guys enjoy slicing their prisoners in a cave portraying Saw movie graphics for a short time. “My aim is that when I look a man in the eyes I want my selection to be very personal,” one of the terrorists who do not shy away from violence says just before Kinney assertively says, “That is not something we need to be discussing at the moment.”
When is the correct moment for it, then? Perhaps not in “Land of Bad,” where hero # 1 is almost always in action and seldom has time for explanation and hero number 2 ought not to do it either.
Grimm is bound and determined to get his way. He works alone but often intertwines it with violence. This makes it so that he has a deep-rooted disdain for Colonel Virgil Packett. He also sees an inner psycho driven by energy drinks within himself, to add on the character there are humorous comments making them sound more relatable. These moments could be improvements on the mythic wonders of an hour in Los Angeles.
At first, he successfully avoided conversations about his work, his job being working with a coffee machine. Keurig pods disturbed him but the idea of marriage being the greatest display of social order disturbed Branson. He is also the only one who has a chance of rescuing Kinney, who has been poorly constructed throughout the story. Their relationship seems weak as there are too many questions and reasons why two characters could possibly bond.
Grimm has caused most of the tropes played by him earlier in the movie to seem quite thrilling and as a point of pure drama. Kinney becomes repetitive but his violence against his wife becomes infinitely entertaining. The tension dissipates when Branson is reminded for the fourth time about Kinney’s previous life and how uncomfortable it is to be a part of it.
Scenes in most action films that fall into the so-called ‘Land of Bad’ category, where characters depict how they shine in whatever they do, seem more interesting than those in which the filmmakers try to convince the audience that the steampunk ciphers they see are real. The name William Eubank has left a mark in the film industry, as he possesses cinematic prowess which he showcased in his earlier works, such as in the 2020 disaster film “Underwater” which is led by Kristen Stewart. It is therefore not a big surprise when one remarks that “Land of Bad” does not disappoint in terms of the fight sequences which are impressively well-executed and at the same time beautiful as their lighting, as well as tempo, is varied and very realistic. Aerial rocket bombardment hitting and exploding a hill with a huge army of militants and their trucks is a good illustration of what this director’s new work is all about in terms of its content.
In all fairness, “Land of Bad” is a gem as it has some few redeeming features such as Milo Ventimiglia, who is also present in this film, stabbing a terrorist in the neck using a dinner set that has been broken at the time. Eubank and his associates probably would have been better off making a run of the mill action film instead of this. In its current form, “Land of Bad” is an assault on the senses, a poorly conceived drama with some moments typical of a genre action picture.
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