It’s no surprise the number one movie on Netflix is flying high, given Russell Crowe and Luke and Liam Hemsworth are leading the cast.
But as we often see on the streaming service’s Top 10 charts, it didn’t exactly go down well when the film first dropped, with the 2024 film’s Rotten Tomatoes score showing a critic and audience divide.
The movie itself is Land of Bad, which debuted in cinemas in February, earning just $6.9 million at the box office against an estimated $25 million production budget.
Despite flopping its theatrical run, William Eubank’s action thriller has shot up to first place on Netflix’s movies charts since dropping on the streamer last Thursday (July 18).
You can check out the full list below:
- Land of Bad
- Find Me Falling
- Trolls Band Together
- Hillbilly Elegy
- The Long Game
- Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F
- Minions
- Fifty Shades Freed
- Shrek
- The Super Mario Bros. Movie
We often see Certified Rotten films with big actors doing well on Netflix (see The Snowman, Atlas, and On the Line). But in Land of Bad’s case, there’s a significant divide.
The critics slapped it with a 65% score based on 62 reviews, while audiences rated it a whopping 94%.
Of the less favorable reviews, RogerEbert.com said, “The makers of Land of Bad mostly reduce their movie’s antagonists to generic obstacles for Kinney… As it is, Land of Bad is a pandering drama with some action movie thrills.”
Inverse noted the “familiar plot,” which it navigates well to start with, only to “overcomplicate its own story.” The outlet added, “Land of Bad, in other words, is a film that would be incredibly easy to love – were it to end 30 minutes before it does.”
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Many reviews have praised Crowe’s scene-stealing performance as veteran drone pilot Captain Eddie Grimm “Reaper”. As stated by THR, the actor “spends most of the movie sitting in a chair staring at a screen and manages to completely steal it anyway.”
But there’s been plenty of positive feedback from viewers at home, with one hailing it “one of the best military ops action films of 2024.”
Another said, “The last stretch of the movie I was on the edge of my seat rooting for the main characters. It was so tense. Absolutely loved it.” Others cited the “amazing action” and “incredible cast.”
Not everyone has enjoyed it quite as much, however, including this person who wrote, “Cliche of a cliche of a war/terrorism action movie. The performances were good enough for 2.5 stars.”
The story itself follows a rookie Air Force operative (Liam Hemsworth), who joins a number of soldiers (including Abel, played by his brother Luke) on a high-stakes mission in the Philippines.
Guided remotely by a veteran commander (Crowe), they must navigate overwhelming odds and lethal threats to ensure their survival.
If you’d like to form your own opinion, Land of Bad is streaming on Netflix now. You can also find more movies heading to streaming this month, as well as the best films of 2024 so far.