Director William Eubank ventures to the Philippines (as portrayed by Australia) in the awkwardly titled “Land of Bad”, a somewhat conventional yet meticulously crafted military movie set in South Asia’s Sulu Sea. While the basic outline of the story will feel pretty familiar to anyone who has watched thrillers of this kind, Eubank shows a great eye for action. From setting it up to its execution, he and cinematographer Agustin Claramunt put together some stunning combat sequences that more than make up for the flaws.

The story (co-written by Eubank and David Frigerio) unfolds on two fronts that gel together pretty well despite one being significantly more compelling than the other. At Palawan Air Base in the Philippines an antsy 27-year-old JTAC (Joint Terminal Attack Controller) officer named Kinney (Liam Hemsworth) preps for his first field mission with fellow soldiers. He’ll be joining a trio of highly trained Delta Force operatives that includes team leader Sugar (Milo Ventimiglia), Abel (Luke Hemsworth), and Bishop (Ricky Whittle).

The four HALO jump down to an island occupied by extremist militants. Their mission is to rescue a captured CIA asset who was gathering intel on a Russian arms dealer named Alexander Petrov. Meanwhile at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, a crusty drone pilot who goes by Reaper (Russell Crowe) along with his partner Nia (Chika Ikogwe) will be providing them surveillance and air support from a remote controlled MQ-9 drone up above.

After navigating through the dense jungle the team arrives at Petrov’s base and begin preparing to go in. The time and level of detail Eubank puts into their precise and by-the-numbers reconnaissance adds to the realism and does a good job building tension leading up to the inevitable action. But the team’s mission immediately goes sideways following the unexpected arrival of a brutal terrorist named Saeed Hashimi (Robert Rabiah). Soon bullets are flying as the team finds themselves fighting for their lives.

Following the overwhelming chaos of battle (and the first of several great action set pieces), Kinney ends up alone in the enemy infested jungle with only Reaper on the radio and his drone in the air to guide the young soldier to his extraction point. But once Kinney arrives, Eubank hits us with his second big set piece – a fiercely intense and visually jaw-dropping sequence that sets the story on an entirely different trajectory.

While chunks of the story may feel familiar, Eubank’s keeps things moving at a propulsive pace, specifically when on the ground in the Philippines. The scenes back in Vegas are a lot shakier. The attempts at adding tension and drama at the airbase mostly fall flat and distract from the actual mission. Crowe’s Reaper spends as much time arguing with his Commanding Officer over basketball and complaining about the disorder of the kitchen’s coffee cabinet than in his chair trying to guide Kinney to freedom.

There’s also not a lot of depth when it comes to its characters. They try with Reaper who we learn is on his fourth marriage and has a pregnant wife at home who could go into labor at any second. But none of it leaves much of an impressive. There are also a few odd choices that don’t work at all. Take later in the film where we get a whimsical sequence in a grocery store intercut with a much more serious torture scene in the field. It’s a jarring contrast that doesn’t have whatever effect Eubank was going for.

Yet even with its story-based issues, “Land of Bad” kept me glued to my screen. As a pure military action movie, it hits its marks. Firefights, hand-to-hand combat, air strikes – we get it all and Eubank shoots it as well as anyone you’ll see. The performances are solid especially from Liam Hemsworth and Crowe (despite the material letting down the latter). A tighter script with less crass military speak and more investment in the characters would have done wonders. Still, “Land of Bad” has the edge-of-your-seat thrills and the immersive detail to keep us engaged. “Land of Bad” hits theaters February 16th.

VERDICT – 3 STARS