Man Down

The plight of American soldiers suffering from PTSD following combat in the Middle East is a serious issue that deserves more sensitive treatment than filmmaker Dito Montiel's Man Down, which attempts to be both a truthful psychological study and a tense thriller, but succeeds as neither. Shia LaBeouf stars as Gabe, a man with a loving wife and adorable son, who joins the Marines after 9/11 along with pal Devin (Jai Courtney). After basic training the pair deploy to Afghanistan, winding up in a firefight that ends tragically and sends Gabe to a psychologist (Gary Oldman). Gabe returns home to a dystopian America of bombed-out buildings and empty streets, where—accompanied by Devin—he searches desperately for his son, who is being held captive in what appears to be a juvenile detention facility. Montiel's approach is artsy, shuffling the various plot strands until an abrupt twist snaps the apocalyptic mood back into something approaching realism. Man Down intends to criticize the government for failing to help veterans returning from battle, but it winds up being more insulting than insightful, serving up a mix of pretentiousness and cheap melodrama. Not recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Dito Montiel and military consultant Nick Jones, Jr., and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a bonus UltraViolet copy of the film. Bottom line: a decent extras package for this cinematic misfire.] (F. Swietek)