Not as awful as its title, this military actioner mainly gets by with the help of Russell Crowe in another of his late career moves into B-movie territory. He plays a U.S. Air Force officer named Eddie “Reaper” Grimm whose lack of normal social niceties (he’s now on his fourth marriage) has stalled his career. Though once a promising fighter pilot he’s now stuck behind a desk in Las Vegas remotely piloting drones in faraway lands. The plot has to do with a team of soldiers sent into the jungles of the Philippines to extract a captured CIA operative. None of these pros like drones, which are supposed to provide reconnaissance and pick off ambushes, because, well, they don’t like being watched. Consequently, they rail on the rookie in their midst, J.J. “Playboy” Kinney (Liam Hemsworth), because he’s the drone liaison and has never been in this kind of situation before. 

Suffice to say that the mission goes sideways really fast, leaving only Playboy to complete it with Reaper’s help. The enemy is a Muslim militant group that likes to cut off heads and torture anyone they meet, so naturally Playboy has his work cut out for him, as does Reaper, who is constantly being distracted by superiors who don’t take him seriously enough—he is an asshole—and the fact that his current wife is about to go into labor. Crowe is the perfect fit. 

The movie’s action particulars are pretty rote, but the drone stuff is interesting, since the movie, through Reaper, explains both the limitations and the advantages of the technology in a combat situation. Obviously, it’s not infallible, but when it’s down you really miss it.

Now playing in Tokyo at Toho Cinemas Hibiya (050-6868-5068), Toho Cinemas Shinjuku (050-6868-5063).

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