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Land of Bad

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Land of Bad
Theatrical release poster
Directed byWilliam Eubank
Written by
Produced by
  • David Frigerio
  • William Eubank
  • Michael Jefferson
  • Adam Beasley
  • Nathan Klingher
  • Ryan Winterstern
  • Arianne Fraser
  • Petr Jákl
  • Mark Fasano
Starring
CinematographyAgustin Claramunt
Edited byTodd E. Miller
Music byBrandon Roberts
Production
companies
  • R.U. Robot Studios
  • Highland Film Group
  • Volition Media Partners
Distributed by
Release date
  • February 16, 2024 (2024-02-16)
Running time
114 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$7 million[3][4]

Land of Bad is a 2024 American action thriller film directed by William Eubank, who co-wrote the script with David Frigerio. The film stars Liam Hemsworth, Russell Crowe, Luke Hemsworth, Ricky Whittle, and Milo Ventimiglia. Land of Bad was released theatrically on February 16, 2024. It grossed $6.5 million worldwide.

Plot

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Captain Eddie "Reaper" Grimm, a US Air Force drone pilot in the 15th Attack Squadron, supported by Staff Sergeant Nia Branson, provides air support from a Reaper to a US Army Delta Force team sent to rescue a CIA spy in the southern Philippines.[5] After a firefight breaks out against the Abu Sayyaf, Sergeant JJ Kinney – a young Air Force TACP (callsign "Playboy") attached to the Delta Force team as its JTAC – is seemingly the only survivor and is directed to an extraction point, relying only on the Reaper's remote air support.

Once Kinney arrives, he is intercepted by the Abu Sayyaf, depleting the ammunition of Grimm's drone (consisting of AGM-114 Hellfire and BLU-118 munitions) and forcing the endangered extraction helicopter to leave. Trying to reach another extraction point, Kinney falls down a hill and loses his rifle, runs out of ammunition for his pistol, and then gets captured. One of his squad mates, Master Sergeant John "Sugar" Sweet, turns out to be alive and rescues Kinney, while telling him Sergeant Bishop was taken prisoner in Abu Sayyaf's base in a series of caves, at their initial mission location. Using Sweet's radio, Kinney contacts Grimm, who schedules three bombings to hit the base, each 15 minutes apart, before Grimm and Branson are forced by their superiors to take a leave for having exceeded their duty day. Kinney and Sweet raid one of Sayyaf's facilities before being captured and taken to their prison.

Sweet is executed right as the first superficial bombing hits, and Kinney is taken to be tortured, where the rebel leader does not believe his warning about the upcoming bombings. When the bombs hit, Kinney survives due to having been dunked in a water tub, while his captors are caught in the flames. Kinney grabs a machete and kills the surviving leader, taking his satellite phone and calling Nellis Air Force Base for Grimm to call off the third bombing, before the battery runs out.

The base crew, distracted by a March Madness game, dismisses Kinney's call and redirects him to Grimm's private phone. Grimm does not answer, being in a call with his very pregnant wife while grocery shopping, so Kinney leaves a voice mail, and leaves seeking the other prisoners. Returning to Bishop and searching for a way out, they also find the CIA operative, whom Grimm and Branson had been lied to that he was found elsewhere by another agency's operation.

At the grocery store checkout, Grimm hears Kinney's voicemail and immediately leaves, trying to call Nellis while driving to the base. As no one answers, Grimm is forced to rush to the control room and order the B-1 Lancer pilot to abort the bombing, right as it flies in front of Kinney, Bishop, and the CIA agent reaching the cave's entrance. As the soldiers are finally extracted in the Philippines, Grimm complains to the rest of the base crew and his superiors that three men nearly died because they were too distracted to hear their calls, despite being repeatedly asked to pay attention to the phone because of his pregnant wife, and he smashes the break room's main television in anger. Afterwards he convenes with Branson in a hangar, where she asks him to walk her down the aisle in her wedding, and he agrees and leads her in a dance.

Cast

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Production

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The film, originally titled JTAC, was written by David Frigerio and William Eubank in 2012 and in 2013 at Satellite Coffee coffee shops in Albuquerque during production of their film The Signal.[6][7] Shortly after writing the script, Eubank and Frigerio shadowed real-life JTACs for two weeks at Fort Irwin National Training Center; their immersion in the world of forward air control was extensive with the two radioing in "nine lines" (close air support briefings) to F-35 pilots overhead during exercises.[8] The cast project, with Eubank also directing, was first announced at the 2022 Cannes Film Market, with Russell Crowe and Liam Hemsworth as the first cast members attached to the film.[9] In September 2022, additional casting announcements added Milo Ventimiglia, Luke Hemsworth, Ricky Whittle, Daniel MacPherson, Chika Ikogwe,[10] and Robert Rabiah.[11] George Burgess was brought to the cast by Crowe.[12]

Principal photography began in September 2022, running through November 2022 in the Gold Coast, Queensland.[13][14]

Release

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During production, Signature Entertainment purchased the distribution rights for UK and Ireland, France and Scandinavia,[15] with distribution in the United States handled by The Avenue.[16] The film was released in the United States on February 16, 2024.[16] It began streaming by Netflix on July 18, 2024.[17]

Reception

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 67% of 66 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.1/10. The website's consensus reads: "Thanks to some exciting set pieces and a smartly assembled cast, Land of Bad stands as a solid survival thriller in spite of an overall reliance on genre formula."[18] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 57 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[19]

Simon Abrams of RogerEbert.com gave the film two out of four stars and wrote, "Land of Bad may sell itself as a post-Black Hawk Down rescue mission thriller, but it's too often a baggy dramatized lecture about what's really wrong with the American military and modern warfare."[20]

In a positive review, Nick Schager of The Daily Beast wrote, "The film trades in aggro bluster and bombast that's so pure, undiluted, and unsubtle that it verges on—and sometimes tips over into—comedy. Nonetheless, beneath its puffed chest lurks earnest affection for the men and women who risk their lives for their country and, more importantly, for each other, and that goes some way toward helping it earn its climactic feel-good pathos."[21]

References

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  1. ^ "Land Of Bad Sees Action; Oscar Nominated Shorts' Long Game; God & Country Enters Political Fray & The Zone Of Interest Wins 3 BAFTAs – Specialty Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. February 18, 2024. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  2. ^ "Land of Bad (15)". BBFC. February 22, 2024. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  3. ^ "Land of Bad— Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  4. ^ "Land of Bad". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  5. ^ Goldsmith, Jill (February 18, 2024). "'Land Of Bad' Sees Action; Oscar Nominated Shorts' Long Game; 'God & Country' Enters Political Fray & 'The Zone Of Interest' Wins 3 BAFTAs – Specialty Box Office". Deadline. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved February 19, 2024. Thi s [sic] is the tale of a covert Special Forces operation in the South Philippines that spirals into a brutal 48-hour battle for survival.
  6. ^ McNary, Dave (August 16, 2012). "Armory/Bender sets Frigerio to write 'JTAC'". Variety. Los Angeles. Archived from the original on August 1, 2021. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  7. ^ William Eubank (February 12, 2024). "Writer/Director William Eubank Talks Venturing to the Land of Bad". ComicBook.com (Interview). Interviewed by Patrick Cavanaugh. Paramount Global. Archived from the original on February 13, 2024. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  8. ^ Davids, Brian (February 15, 2024). "Land of Bad Director William Eubank Talks His Full-Circle Experience with Russell Crowe". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  9. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (April 29, 2022). "Russell Crowe & Liam Hemsworth Set To Star In Action-Thriller Land Of Bad — Cannes Market". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on March 15, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  10. ^ Slatter, Sean (September 9, 2022). "Will Eubank's Land of Bad heads to Queensland, Luke Hemsworth joins cast". IF Magazine. The Intermedia Group. Archived from the original on March 15, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  11. ^ Kornits, Dov (September 24, 2022). "Robert Rabiah cast in Land of Bad opposite Russell Crowe and Liam Hemsworth". FilmInk. Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  12. ^ Chammas, Michael (November 9, 2022). "Russell Crowe hands George Burgess cameo role in film alongside Liam Hemsworth". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on November 22, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  13. ^ Burke, Tony; Palaszczuk, Annastacia (September 23, 2022). "Land of Bad starring Russell Crowe, Liam Hemsworth and Luke Hemsworth generates 270 jobs for Australia's screen sector". Ministry for the Arts. Archived from the original on March 15, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  14. ^ Remley, Hilary (November 1, 2022). "First Land of Bad Image Shows Liam & Luke Hemsworth on a Rescue Mission". Collider. Archived from the original on March 15, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  15. ^ Dalton, Ben (October 4, 2022). "Signature Entertainment acquires Russell Crowe, Liam and Luke Hemsworth thriller 'Land Of Bad' (exclusive)". Screen Daily. Media Business Insight. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  16. ^ a b London, Rob (December 19, 2023). "Land of Bad Trailer — Russell Crowe Is Liam Hemsworth's Eye in the Sky". Collider. Valnet Inc.
  17. ^ Volk, Pete (July 18, 2024). "One of the year's best underrated action thrillers just dropped on Netflix". Polygon. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  18. ^ "Land of Bad". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 12, 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
  19. ^ "Land of Bad". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  20. ^ Abrams, Simon (February 16, 2024). "Land of Bad". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  21. ^ Schager, Nick (February 14, 2024). "'Land of Bad': Russell Crowe Stars in the Bro-iest Bro-fest That Ever Bro'd". The Daily Beast. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
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