The Film Buffa Reviews: ‘Land of Bad’ proves Liam Hemsworth isn’t all that bad

Russell Crowe and Milo Ventimiglia help considerably in a decent action flick.

I have nothing against Liam Hemsworth personally. He seems like a swell fella, and tries hard. He’s just not that good, in my humble, 42-year-old buffoon-flavored opinion. He’s the least of the Hemsworth brothers, ranking third behind Chris and Luke. Ever since he got out-acted by Josh Hutchinson in The Hunger Games and endlessly failed to stand out, Liam showing up in a movie is like Tobey Maguire playing anything but a supporting role in a Spider-Man: Bland like Aldi deli meat.

There’s just nothing there for me, usually. It helps that in Land of Bad, Liam is joined by Luke in a Lone Survivor-infused action film that balances itself nicely on intense-enough war scenes, and includes a few characters worth caring about. He’s the pilot who relays drone strike locations to the operator named Reaper (Russell Crowe, having a lot of fun) that is put on a retrieval mission at the last minute. The film literally opens with Hemsworth’s inexperienced combat soldier, Kinney, nervously staring down a couple boxes of cereal.

Kinney is interrupted by a gung-ho Sugar (Milo Ventimiglia buying in 100%), the team leader and experienced vet who knows how to calm down his crew with a few words. If NBC’s This Is Us did something very right, it’s remind the world (and Hollywood decision-makers) that Ventimiglia can really act and carries versatility in his screen presence. He channeled his longtime screen and off screen pal, Sylvester Stallone, with a performance that would make John Rambo circa 1982 very proud.

Luke plays Sergeant Abell, the veteran on the team who always seems to have extra protein bars in his pocket. Ricky Whittle is Bishop, the ball-buster who nicknames Kinney “fruit loops” when corrected on the cereal that ultimately was chosen. Director William Eubank, who also co-wrote the screenplay with David Frigerio, gets the audience to bind to this group, so their dangerous futures will be easy to root for.

Holding up its genre end of the bargain, the shit hits the proverbial fan, and gunfire breaks out. What soon develops is a monstrous army against a handful of American soldiers in a chase through the roughest terrain. But Kinney and company have an ace in their sleeve in Crowe’s drone operator. It’s just a shame the missiles take 20-30 seconds to find their target. In Land of Bad, a lot of bad things can happen during that wait.

This is a solid, all-around B-side action adventure. Hemsworth doesn’t exactly anchor it all, but he does a fine job of giving Kinney the right mix of nerves and ability. You can cling to his protagonist as he is shot at, beat up, boxed in on numerous occasions, and basically dealt every bad hand a rookie can find. There isn’t too much to his character, outside of where he’s from. That’s a link he shares with Crowe’s Reaper.

There isn’t enough of him in the film. While the action rescue and evac is entertaining, you really just want more with Reaper--who has a pregnant wife (his third) about to give birth to his (ninth?) kid. All he cares about is the landline phone not being buried by the sound of March Madness unfolding in unison with the rescue.

Just wait for the scene near the climax of the film where Crowe’s character, tossed out of the control room for doing hero shit (aka telling a superior to shove it), shops for vegan-friendly food for his veganatic wife. The fact that Eubank takes the time to tell both stories is quirky fun to me.

It’s a decent way to spend a couple hours on a lazy weekend or evening after work. You don’t have to think much; just watch, chew popcorn, and carry on. Land of Bad doesn’t ask much of you, only for your ability to watch an innocent person get their head chopped off (dear movies: you still can’t do that on one swing.)

It also proves that Liam Hemsworth isn’t all bad, Crowe can be good just about anywhere in any role, and that we need more Milo in our lives. Happy Netflix hunting.

Ps. Thank you, Netflix, for refusing (at least up until this point) to put ads in your movies and shows. If there’s one thing that drains the excitement of watching something as I pound a box of Cheez-its, it’s a sudden TV spot on heartburn medication. That was part of my experience watching the Season 4 finale of The Boys on Prime Video.

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