There are two sub-genres of "war is hell" movies: the first is about the horrors of combat, and the second is similar, only the bullets and explosions are awesome.
Director William Eubank's poorly titled Land of Bad is the latter, and if you're not in the mood for a Molotov cocktail of testosterone, then avoid this hard-working, low-budget, ultra-violent 'behind enemy lines' action movie.
Liam Hemsworth is a greenhorn who joins three Special Forces supersoldiers on a secret mission, which goes pear-shaped immediately, leaving Liam's character to fight for survival and plot a rescue mission. Luckily, Hemsworth is being watched by a drone, eyes in the sky armed to the teeth.
Even luckier: his pilot is affable, competent Russell Crowe, a little long in the tooth but still the best of the best. Crowe’s performance rules. He's my fantasy hero: a middle-aged dude who is exceptional at Call of Duty.
I just can’t watch any war movies anymore.
Thanks for another great review, though.
Sometimes Crowe is unrecognizable. But even in the Pope's Exorcist, he was terrific. I didn't expect to like it that much but I did, which says something about his star power, which he earned.