Man Down is the story of U.S. Marine Gabriel Drummer (Shia LaBeouf) fought for his country in Afghanistan only to return home to an America very different than the one he left, a post-apocalyptic hell that is no better than the war zone he just left. Accompanied by his best friend, Drummer goes on the hunt for his missing wife Natalie (Kate Mara) and their son.
Man Down marks the return to the mainstream big screen movies for LaBeouf who has been somewhat absent since his last appearance in Transformers: Dark of the Moon in 2011. He's done a few independent films and had some questioning his sanity at times. I've always been a fan of his comedy style in the Transformers movies, but hearing about him playing a post-war vet in a serious drama had me concerned. And then I saw the preview.
The preview shows a Marine raid on a house in Afghanistan. One of the Marines gives the "all clear" meaning there is no threat in the house. As the others walk in, a gunman hiding under a blanket is unveiled and takes out many of the Marines. Drummer survived. The preview shows Dummer talking to military counselor Peyton (Gary Oldman). Not only does LaBeouf look like he can pull off this dramatic role, but he looks quite convincing and has been hailed by Variety who said, "Labeouf achieves that authentic, hurts-to-watch approach seldom seen since the days of Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift." Hearing LaBeouf is in this kind of role would probably make me give a 2 star rating that might be bumped up with Mara and Oldman picking up the slack. But it doesn't look like there's any slack in this film and I'm giving Man Down a preemptive 3.5 star rating. I think it will be gut-wrenching, raw, real and intense that is well worth the theatres, I'm just not sure if I'll be running out to buy it when it's available to own. So, am I right? We shall see.
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