User Reviews

The direction that the film is attempting is valiant, but sadly as someone who has served, and understands combat this movie misses the mark completely. Man Down is a movie that wants to make a statement about PTSD and suffering but it handles the subject matter like a bull in a china shop. It handles the subject matter just like "The Hurt Locker", it will make most people emotional, but it will annoy every veteran because of how inaccurate the movie is about…well everything. Dito Montiel, the director, wanted to take an emotional movie about the ravages of war but his direction and understanding is terrible. Instead of showing real symptoms of PTSD it makes the main character look schizophrenic and crazy. This is exacerbated further by the non-linear story telling that at times jumps around the time line way too much. The very few times you begin to get into the scene, suddenly you jump to the main character and suddenly he has a beard and we are in the crazy phase again. Shai tries his best, but unlike in Fury he doesn't capture the essence of the Marine. It might be because he went from an eccentric secondary character into a crazy main character. The odd Soldier/Marine is a tough character to play and an even harder character to carry a movie.

This movie is a 4/10 for a civilian, lower if you are a veteran 2/10(not because it is about PTSD but because it handles it so poorly).

Being in a war is hardly a vacation which is the biggest understatement I have ever said. With enemies lurking within the near distance, to the idea that your life is hanging within the balance, and the fact that little to no rewards come out of the sacrifices you make to serve your country it's a hell you have entered that very few ever come out even after the war. The dedicated men and women been through hell and back, sadly never fully come back as the nightmares they've encountered has become a reality and the fears and delusions that manifest within their heads can never be fully forgotten. "Man Down" demonstrates how long after the war and the battles they've fought can never be expunged from their minds as told from the lead character named Gabriel Drummer (Shia LaBeouf) who after fighting in The War in Afghanistan comes home and awaited with another nightmare as he tries to look for his wife and his son.

The intentions that "Man Down" has to offer is that we watch as a young soldier makes the transformation from a determined and dedicated recruit ready to take down the enemy to becoming an unfortunate shell of his former self battling the effects of PTSD almost like the ghosts of war followed him home.

Under the direction of Dito Montiel, he covers the movie in a non-parallel format as we see traces of Gabriel's downward spiral from his boot-camp sessions where he gets verbally scolded by a tyrannical Gunnery Sargent, his private life before getting drafted facing up with his deeply concerned but strong-willed wife Natalie (Kate Mara) and his adorable mop-topped son Jonathan (Charlie Shotwell), to the time he was deployed to Afghanistan, to his traumatized scarring that has affected his psyche as he insanely goes on a mission to rescue his son who might end up potentially become a victim of child slavery back home in America.

There is no denying that Montiel's intentions are really good and also succeeds in making the movie at least very interesting. The biggest problem about "Man Down" is that is way too in-your-face in its delivery and the narrative is handled very awkwardly. The direction shows that Montiel knows very little about the effects of PTSD and that the story is based on general assumptions that might be borderline offensive and insulting to those who have suffered from PTSD or someone who they know suffered from PTSD. It doesn't help that the supporting characters offer little to no help in caring for Gabriel's illness, assuming it's just a temporary phase that he'll pull through, though it's not as easy as one thinks.

LaBeouf does everything possible as he's rightfully cast in roles he has played in the past. He's seems to capture the essence of a flawed introverted individual who might be prone to crack when you least expect him to. We can see him at times get to break out of his shelled exterior through his sessions with his therapist Captain Peyton (Gary Oldman) and the melancholic drama has at least a few minutes of comfort.

The sad part about "Man Down" was that the director strips its good intentions with a myriad of cliches mixed low-budget set pieces and absurd dialogue that rests on cringe. It's very unsettling to watch the slow-motion scenes of soldiers training non-stop until sunset while soft rock is played in the background or that way how Montiel pans towards a dead Afghani family which then segues to Gabriel smiling as he's finally made it home. I actually hate it when this movie tries to insult our intelligence by covering a scene and then coming and repeating the scenes moments later. I mean come on, this movie is 90 minutes long, we don't all have short attention spans.

The visual aspects of this movie is quite uninspiring and lacks in originality. The colouring is bland, the digital compositing is pedestrian and the shaky cam is annoying. The military scenarios were exciting watch back when Black Hawk Down was made almost two decades ago, now these days it has become monotonous and done to death.

In spite of the plethora of flaws depicted in the movie, "Man Down" is film you really want to hate, but deep inside you really can't. The technical failures might be overwhelmingly atrocious and the narrative is non-linear and incoherent. But the film does succeed in keeping things interesting a Shia LaBeouf whether you like him or hate him puts in great effort to capture the spirit of a traumatized soldier who can't escape the clutches of the nightmares he's conflicted in Afghanistan and Iraq.

I'm not a fan of Shia the Beef and wasn't expecting much from this film other than some action and some easy trash watching. I was very surprised at actually how well Beef acted in this. It's a bit confusing at times but the heart breaking end had me swallowing a lump in my throat.

I suspect PTSD manifests itself differently between individuals and if this even gives a flavour of something most of us will never experience then job done.

Thought the critics were a bit hard on this movie.

Transcending the frustrating script, Shia LaBeouf emerges as the movie's saving grace. Supplying an Oscar-worthy display, LaBeouf finally reaps the rewards of his fateful 'Transformers' campaign. A sentence as shocking to write as it is to read, the 29-year old star transfers the same wide-eyed, controlled fervor to a damaged man he's clearly spent time molding both physically and mentally. His dedication reaches its peak during the climatic home invasion scene, wherein Gabriel attempts to 'rescue' his son from his own house. At this point we are finally aware of Gabe's condition, but observing LaBeouf's unwavering devotion in the way he strangles a SWAT officer and seeks cover in his own kitchen – moving with dazed familiarity, is made that much more saddening when he hands his terrified son a pack of gummy bears; his favorite food. In my eyes, that final scene is what raised that audience to their feet. If not for any naive prejudices against Shia, and surely not for the script, 'Man Down' deserves a viewing for that sole, heart-wrenching scene alone.

FULL REVIEW HERE: http://indieadam.com/2015/09/22/man-down-review-indieadam-tiff- 2015/

If your going to make a war drama or a statement about PTSD then you should sell the movie that way. Instead we are tricked into an action film and/or post apocalyptic film. The film style is really messy and annoying, constant time jumps. The acting is OK, I'm not a fan of Shia LaBeouf, he's always so glum. The rest of cast is solid though.

Hollywood cannot make a decent war movie without it being so d*mn sappy...but this film is even worse. You should definitely skip it.