Land of Bad

The Land of Bad follows a.special ops rescue mission to its conclusion. The tone and feel of the movie is reminiscent of Sicario and Top Gun: Maverick. The story is good with some unexpected twists, thrills, and lessons.

All of the actors do a great job but Russell Crowe steals the screen through the character 'Reaper,' a civilian contractor working as a drone operator. Reaper cares deeply about his job and takes the mission seriously. The team in the field is his number one priority and that's what makes Reaper so darn likable.

All in all the action looked and felt great but that's not what makes Land of Bad a good movie. In fact, I wouldn't even call Land of Bad an action flick. At its heart, Land of Bad is drama about the difficulties surrounding modern combat and its effect on our psyche.

Don't get me wrong. It's not an Oscar winner or anything but it's a serious and entertaining movie that I enjoyed enough to write this review.

There are a lot of movies based around the special forces do incredible things format. And, honestly, it's a genre that's a bit overcooked, IMHO. Land of Bad is an exception.

Land of Bad, while not pushing boundaries, delivering exceptional performances, or providing a particularly insightful look into this world, does deliver an engaging slice of entertainment. It's an action film that is devoid of melodrama.

Russell Crowe delivers a solid performance, as a passionate drone operator who battles against bureaucracy and for the special forces unit under his watchful gaze. But none of the actors have space to stretch their legs and deliver meaningful performances.

I was surprised this was a Cert 15, there are some scenes that are quite violent, beyond the to-be-expected shoot-them-up scenes.

If you like these kinds of action films, you will not be disappointed with this one. It's a solid piece of cinema that will keep you engaged.

"How do you know when someone's a Vegan? They will tell you!"

'Land of Bad' is not bad, thanks to a very adult script by David Frigerio and William Eubank and very taut direction from the self-same William Eubank.

Liam Hemsworth (AF Sgt J. J. Kinney) does a nice job, but it's Russel Crowe, as an implausible Air Force Captain (AF Captain Eddie Grim aka 'Reaper'), who steals the show. The funny vegan references are dry and very funny. Crowe's trip to the supermarket should be taught in acting Master Classes!

Unlike many action films, this one doesn't require too much buy-in and the dialogue is not loaded up with cheesy cliches-vegan, or real!

This film isn't going to win any Oscars or be nominated by any stretch of the imagination but it's a solid action flick. It's an interesting take on a military action movie where the drone operator (Crowe) can be the difference between life and death for an American team behind enemy lines. Of course some Hollywood magic carries the movie through scenes that wouldn't otherwise happen in real life but that's to be expected.

Crowe does a great job as an aging drone operator who should be higher in rank by now but is held back by his own stubbornness. Without Crowe in this role I think the movie would fall far under the radar (pun intended) of most people looking for a decent action movie to watch. Hemsworth does a decent job in his role but it's Crowe that holds the film together. Worth a watch.

I don't review many movies but I felt obligated when I saw how poorly this is doing in the box office. It's unfair for how well this movie does while watching it.

When I first saw this film on a list of movies to watch on a...non reputable website for movies...I thought it was a Netflix or Amazon flick because I've never heard of it before, let alone seen a trailer. Here I come to find out that this movie was not only released in theaters but it was released TWO DAYS AGO (2/15). The marketing team completely dropped the ball on this movie. The major reason that I believe it failed is because there was zero reaching out to potential audiences.

This movie has your basic covert jungle style warfare with enemies who can't aim but it kept me entertained and into it the entire time. The acting is decent, and Russell Crowe is great as an 'in your ear drone operator'. The way they used technical equipment in this movie is better than I've seen of late in any modern movie with drone warfare.

If you want to see a jungle shooting movie with American good guys shooting at random bad guys then this movie is for you. It's very entertaining and I felt into it the entire time.

7/10.