Land of Bad Plot Summary
Land of Bad tells the story of a US special forces unit who are on a mission to extract a valuable CIA asset from an enemy compound in the South Philippines. The group consists of Sergeant Abell, Sergeant Bishop, Master Sergeant John Sweet, and Sergeant J.J. Kinney, aka Playboy, who is less experienced than the other men.
Meanwhile, back at the station base sits Capt. Eddie Grimm ‘Reaper,’ an air drone operator, who keeps an eye on them remotely.
At the end of the film’s story, Kinney is left to tackle the mission alone. He’s on a time limit as a bomb is about to drop at his location.
In this ending explained article for Land of Bad, we recap the film’s events and reveal Kinney’s fate.
What is the mission?
Kinney and the other members of the squad are sent deep into the Philippines jungle to rescue a valuable asset who has been abducted by Abu Sayyaf and his army.
When they are airdropped into the jungle, they take up position away from the enemy camp. From here, they witness Sayyaf killing the wife of an arms dealer named Petrov. When the tyrant also tries to kill Petrov’s kids, the squad asks Reaper to send in a fighter jet to distract him.
Unfortunately, the plane is too far away so the men have no choice but to intervene and shoot at Sayyaf’s men. This act gives away their position, so they are forced to scramble when Sayyaf’s army comes looking for them.
What happens to the squad?
The enemy soldiers emerge from a cave below Kinney’s elevated position. When he is sighted, a fierce gunfight takes place, and Abell is killed. When Kinney sees an RPG hone in towards Sweet and Bishops’s position, he escapes the scene with the belief that they were killed in the explosion.
Kinney is left alone but he is still able to speak to Reaper who is surveilling the operation remotely. Reaper guides Kinney to a safe spot where a rescue helicopter will pick him up. But when Sayyaf’s men turn up, the chopper is vulnerable, as is Kinney, who escapes by dropping from a cliff and into the river below.
Does Kinney escape capture?
No! Kinney is captured by Sayyaf’s men and taken prisoner. Just as he thinks his luck is running out, he is rescued by Sweet, who isn’t dead after all. Bishop is also alive, although he is being held captive at the enemy compound.
They set out to rescue their captured comrade while back at base, Reaper is relieved of his position by his superior officer because he has been working too many hours. Another drone operator takes his place.
The superior officer in question is Colonel Duz Packett, who is more interested in watching a basketball game with the other soldiers than paying attention to what is going on in the jungle. This almost has dire consequences, as we discover later.
Back in the jungle, Kinney and Sweet are captured and taken to Bishop’s cell. Kinney tries to warn Sayyaf that a bomb is to be dropped on the compound but the fool doesn’t listen.
After Sweet is killed by Sayyaf’s men, Kinney is taken out of the cell to an area where he is tortured. When he is held underwater, a bomb hits the compound, killing all in the surrounding area. Mercifully, Kinney is saved from the blast because he is immersed in the tub of water.
Land of Bad Ending Explained: What happens to Kinney?
Kinney reaches Bishops’s cell which is where Sayyaf is waiting. An enraged Kinney kills Sayyaf and then rescues both Bishop and the abducted asset.
As they head towards the exit, Kinney is aware another missile is imminent. This will kill them all if it strikes so he desperately tries to get in touch with Reaper. He calls the base but nobody hears the phone because its ringer has been turned off by one of the soldiers watching the basketball game. He then tries to call Reaper on his personal cell, but Reaper is in the supermarket shopping for his wife and fails to answer the unknown number.
Kinney leaves Reaper a voicemail which the captain hears when he stops talking to his wife. With only minutes to spare, he rushes back to base to take over from the drone operator who has no idea that Kinney, Bishop and the asset are in imminent danger.
Reaper arrives just in time and calls off the missile strike. Kinney and the others are saved and presumably now free from further danger.
Packett and the other men at the base are less fortunate, however. Reaper is enraged because they were more interested in the basketball game than the phone that Kinney tried to call. Reaper takes his golf club and creates more than a hole-in-one when he smashes the TV and knocks it to the floor. An explosive end to an explosive film!
Read More: Land of Bad Movie Review