When you hear the term “military thriller,” you probably imagine a big budget, tons of open warfare, scale, violence, you name it, but it’s not always the case. Sometimes all they need is a tense rescue mission, a ticking clock, and a man in the chair with more gravitas than a movie like this actually would ever need.
That’s exactly what Land of Bad delivers. After earning solid word of mouth during its theatrical run, the action thriller has found an even bigger audience on streaming, becoming one of the genre’s latest success stories, and it has recently been charting globally. When a Delta Force special ops mission goes terribly wrong, Air Force drone pilot Captain Eddie “Reaper” Grimm has only 48 hours to remedy what has devolved into a wild rescue operation. Teaming with Sergeant JJ “Playboy” Kinney, a young Air Force JTAC thrust into the mission unexpectedly, Reaper uses the only weapon he can from thousands of miles away: an unmanned Reaper drone.
The cast includes Liam Hemsworth (The Witcher) as Kinney, Russell Crowe (Gladiator) as Eddie Grimm, Luke Hemsworth (Westworld) as Abel, Ricky Whittle (American Gods) as Bishop, Milo Ventimiglia (This Is Us) as Sugar, Daniel MacPherson (Foundation) as Colonel Duz Packett, and Chika Ikogwe (Heartbreak High) as Staff Sergeant Nia Branson.
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Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
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🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
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01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
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02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
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03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
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04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
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05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
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06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
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07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
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08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
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Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
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The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
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You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
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You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
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You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
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Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
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You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
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Was ‘Land of Bad’ a Success?
Land of Bad is one of those movies that was almost designed in a lab to do well on streaming, rather than in the multiplexes. It cost around $18 million to make, and went on to gross over $22 million worldwide. So obviously, not a huge hit, but then when it went onto streaming, that’s when things really took off. The movie managed to find a significantly larger audience through premium video-on-demand and streaming.
While critics were somewhat divided, audiences responded far more enthusiastically, praising its practical action, grounded military realism and Crowe’s commanding supporting performance. The film has a 66% positive rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, but audience response was much higher, sitting at 93%. Probably because it’s a simple enough story, and it’s well-made with actors who aren’t just phoning it in. It’s truly the perfect Saturday night movie if you want to find something easy to check out.
Land of Bad is currently streaming on Netflix in the United States. Stay tuned to Collider for all the latest updates on streaming.
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