Land of Bad: 5.2/10
Land of Bad is certainly not a cinematic masterpiece, nor is it overly original, but still it's a pretty enjoyable (albeit generic) action movie. If all you want out of the film are explosive sequences shot in high quality and engaging combat scenes, then this movie is one to see.
The two main characters are the big names attached to the piece, Russell Crowe as Reaper and Liam Hemsworth as Playboy. They expectedly have most of the screen time, and do not disappoint, with Playboy carrying the action sequences of the film as the rookie who ends up in a mission they aren't properly trained for, only for the newbie to save the day. Whereas Reaper offers the comedic relief, and the more serious acting chops every once in a while to convey the seriousness of the situation the soldiers are in. The rest of the actors are forgettable in their roles, but were not bad per say as they did what was required of side characters in a generic action movie.
Alongside the two stars, the other main strength of this film were the action scenes. The gunfire exchanges between the American soldiers and terrorists are enthralling, and satisfied the simpleton part of my brain that likes big guns that go boom. The explosions didn't look CGI or edited at all, with drone shots flying in between the flames that looked too impressively realistic to be faked in my opinion. I could probably check online to see if these were real or not, but that type of research is simply above my pay grade. So I’ll stick with my gut feeling and say the explosions were real, and they were awesome.
What wasn’t so impressive was the storyline. The notion of the inexperienced soldier ending up in a mission they shouldn't be on, but ends up being the one to save the rest of the team is a tired one. The presumed killed in action team member turning out to be alive to save your main character isn’t original either. It just seemed that every action movie trope I could think of ended up in the movie. There was no moment that shocked me or left me genuinely impressed by the script. And for some (like myself), an action movie doesn’t have to be an actually good movie to be enjoyable. I didn’t buy tickets for Land of Bad thinking it would be a phenomenal film. I bought them hoping to see a simple movie with some cool guns and explosions. I would have welcomed a better, more original story, but the lack of one didn't ruin the experience in any way.
I felt the movie had the same vibe as many of Liam Neeson’s recent films, where it felt like something I’d seen before but was still fun. There was the occasional joke that made me chuckle. There were some scenes with Crowe’s Reaper that were well acted and stood out in comparison to the rest of the cast. But by far, the best aspect of the movie were the guns and explosions. That’s really all an action movie needs to get right for me to find the movie worth seeing. And the Land of Bad nailed the action, and met the bare minimum on the script. If you have a similar view on action movies, I would recommend going out to see the Land of Bad.
