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UI’m in the “try everything once” phase of Russell Crowe’s career, and he’s wearing it well. There’s a looseness to his latest role choice, none of the stage-managed strategy of a hungry star with Oscars in the immediate vicinity of their eyes; he has done all this. He’s in his improvisational free jazz phase and it gave us Big Russ as a deranged road rage maniac (Crazy), the Pope’s personal exorcist (The Pope’s Exorcist), and appearance at WrestleMania 39 in the character of the said Pope’s exorcist—to say nothing of it concerts and music videos. Actor Liam Hemsworth also seems to be enjoying Crowe’s current energy – after working with him Expressionless face in 2022, he teamed up with him again for Land of Bad, a thriller in which they play a dynamic duo from the US military: one a heroically exciting field-operations recruit, the other a grumpy old man with a set of colorful traits and markings to help him to stand out from the rest of the cast. You might be able to tell which way the casting is going; great, Crowe’s character is named Eddie “The Reaper” Grimm.
Despite quality performances from both leading guys, Land of Bad isn’t exactly going to knock anyone over. The action sequences are often excellent, and the plot is the sort of thing we’ve seen in decent films of this type before: one soldier stuck in hostile territory on a mission gone wrong, another man helping out remotely while hampered by institutional failures. There’s something about it that’s not quite coherent, as it lacks a key sense of momentum or tension – when you’re biting your nails during the final race against time, defying the odds, you’re mildly curious to see if or they won’t make it and it would be just as interesting to see them no do it too
It’s a film that teaches us to enjoy its explosions and set pieces, but makes the results seem less important, perhaps in an attempt to make the film a parable about the weak commitment of most modern soldiers to the principles of being a good soldier. It may not be a subject close to most people’s hearts, but skillful storytelling can make you care about anything: check out The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp from 1943, which can make anyone relate to the pathos of a veteran commander fighting an army less principled than the one he grew up with. Land of Bad beats Blimp in terms of stunts, so that’s a plus.
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