Wednesday, 1 May 2024

VOD: Land Of Bad (dir: William Eubank, 2024)

"Just takes one s**t day to change your whole perspective."

Dreadful title aside, this war/action potboiler sees a rather relaxed elite squad off to Southern Asia to rescue a captured CIA agent, but they find themselves attacked disastrously behind enemy lines, leaving a rookie (Liam Hemsworth) and a drone to save the day, get to an evac site and rescue the captive, guided by a veteran operator (Russell Crowe) back at base, making the second and third act mostly The Liam And Russell Show.  A recognisable if somewhat low-rent lead cast - two Hemsworths, Ricky Whittle, Daniel MacPherson, Milo Ventimiglia -  trade military acronyms and low-grade banter, Liam Hemsworth as ever a professional and committed if unremarkable lead, and Russell Crowe brings some much-needed gravitas as he sits in an office and visits a supermarket.  The film's saving grace is the scenic location shooting, and it does make a salient point about what happens when the military hi-tech gear fails, otherwise this is a very anonymous (if bang up-to-date) example of the genre.  (A thought: if it does well enough to warrant two sequels, will they be called Land Of Badder / Land Of Badderer?!)  


No comments: