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I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: military action movies are my kind of cinema. When they hit the target, they deliver some of the most brutal, unflinching action set pieces around—loaded with bravado, brotherhood, and gut-punch drama. There is nothing quite like a combat film that throws you into a storm of emotions before unleashing explosions, tracer fire, and bullets that turn the audience into willing passengers on one hellacious ride. From authentic classics like Platoon and Hamburger Hill to mainstream actioners like Tears of the Sun—still my favorite Bruce Willis film—and the recent Warhorse One, the best military thrillers deliver a visceral, immersive hit unlike anything else. Now Land of Bad storms into that conversation.
This weekend brings director William Eubank’s chair-arm-clenching entry into the military-action arena: Land of Bad. The title may not sound like a tension-loaded combat thriller, but the movie quickly proves there is a reason for it. With a sensational cast featuring Liam Hemsworth, Luke Hemsworth, Ricky Whittle, Milo Ventimiglia, and a scene-stealing Russell Crowe, Land of Bad earns the right to stand beside the films mentioned above. Eubank builds a standout thriller around the ingredients that make this genre work, then injects it with heart and humor. Once the tracer fire erupts and explosions start hammering the landscape, the tension clamps down and viewers will be sweating with their heart rates climbing.
Land of Bad follows Liam Hemsworth’s Kinney, a rookie officer with zero combat experience who is thrown into an all-too-real military nightmare. He is recruited to support a Tier One Delta team of badass operators on a covert extraction deep in the jungles of the South Philippines. When the mission goes completely FUBAR, Kinney is left on his own, with only Air Force drone pilot Reaper—brilliantly played by Crowe—to guide him through the killing zone. Kinney makes a vow to bring his team home or die trying. After roughly twenty minutes of setup, the film slams the accelerator and becomes a brutal, harrowing action thriller powered by relentless firefights, human drama, and full-throttle run-and-gun fury.
Plot-wise—and this is me nitpicking at maximum power—we have seen this basic setup before. The green rookie has to man up and cowboy up to survive, while the hardened team initially writes him off as the liability most likely to get them killed. As the mission spirals, that rookie transforms into a beast and earns the respect of the men who once dismissed him. The film also carries echoes of the superb 1988 war drama Bat 21, starring Gene Hackman and Danny Glover. Like that overlooked 1980s gem, Land of Bad throws a combat-naive soldier into hostile terrain while a savior in the sky fights to keep him alive. The plot may be familiar, but the dialogue and execution fire this movie straight to the top.
Liam Hemsworth is doing serious work to step out from behind his brother Chris’s shadow, and Land of Bad may be the starring vehicle that finally puts his name beside his brother’s. Hemsworth owns the film, giving Kinney a compelling arc from inexperienced novice to lethal killing machine determined to bring everyone home. It helps enormously that he has Russell Crowe to play off, and Crowe is outstanding as drone pilot Reaper. With dry wit, sarcastic humor, and real heart, he delivers one of his best performances in years and steals every scene he touches. Thankfully, he is actually part of the movie rather than a famous extended cameo brought in to sell it. Hemsworth and Crowe generate tremendous chemistry without sharing most of their scenes in the same room, and their connection becomes the film’s beating emotional heart.
Hemsworth and Crowe may be the headline names, but the Tier One operators deserve their own salute. Milo Ventimiglia plays Sugar, Ricky Whittle plays Bishop, and Luke Hemsworth plays Abel, and none of them feels like disposable background muscle. Every actor gets something to do, every operator gets moments of swagger, and the team chemistry keeps the mission alive between firefights. Ventimiglia is especially explosive as Sugar, delivering some of the movie’s sharpest action beats and more than one “Fuck yeah!” moment made for action fans to punch the air. He radiates pure badass energy, which is especially satisfying because he is not usually known as a straight-up action star.
When it comes to adrenaline, Land of Bad arrives fully loaded. The film serves up some of the hardest R-rated action set pieces in recent memory, and once Eubank stomps on the gas, he refuses to let up. There are savage gunfights, enormous explosions, brutal hand-to-hand carnage, and a body count capable of making John Matrix proud. I love combat action, but I love it even more when it refuses to hide the bloody reality of violence. The sense that any character could be expendable keeps the tension razor-sharp because nobody feels completely safe. These set pieces are bloody works of spectacle, staged on a scale and with a ferocity that this kind of film has been missing. From the opening salvo to the final push, it is a crackling spec-ops rush.
The cinematography and music amplify the assault, turning the jungle into another enemy stalking every soldier. Eubank presents an unforgiving landscape that can kill you as quickly as an enemy AK-47. Hemsworth is put through a punishing physical gauntlet, carrying much of the film’s screen time and the kind of action that demands serious cardio. The score also understands the assignment, tightening the suspense, underscoring the heroism, and pulling us deeper into every close call and teeth-clenched confrontation. In a military action movie of this scale, the soundtrack can make or break the experience, and here it helps keep the pressure locked on.
It is a genuine shame that Land of Bad will mostly be experienced in living rooms after missing out on the wide theatrical release it deserves. A movie this committed to big-screen action should be played loud and massive, with the most immersive sound system possible. Watching it, I kept imagining how those explosions, firefights, and jungle assaults would hit in a packed theater. Unfortunately, the streaming era means this will happen more often than not, and it remains criminal that a combat action film this explosive did not get the theatrical spotlight.
If you do not like this movie, I honestly do not know what to tell you about your relationship with action cinema. Land of Bad comes armed with nearly everything genre devotees could want: characters worth investing in, drama laced with humor and heart, and kick-you-in-the-teeth action that erupts with fist-pumping force. The film understands the religion of action movies and worships at the altar of bullets, bravado, sacrifice, and heroic last stands. I have made my position clear. If you disagree, I cannot help you.
Overall, Land of Bad is a crackling spec-ops assault of bullets, bravado, and heroism that does this genre proud. Liam Hemsworth proves he has the firepower to lead a major motion picture, while Russell Crowe delivers one of his strongest scene-stealing performances in years. The supporting cast looks every inch the part, and the adrenaline never runs dry before the final credits. With visceral, immersive set pieces, bloody R-rated action, thunderous explosions, and rapid-fire firefights that make you want to dive for cover, this is exactly the kind of combat thriller action fans crave. 2024 is still young, but with movies like this and The Beekeeper already charging onto screens, I can only hope the year keeps delivering action cinema this fierce.
VERDICT: 4.5 Out of 5 Stars
Land of Bad is a Visceral, Unflinching Spec-Ops Adrenaline Rush from Start to Finish!!!!
