Man Down - Liked It

Shia LaBeouf brings to life Man Down, a movie about a marine who is trying to get his son back. The film itself switches between different times of Gabriel's life as he sits in the office of a counselor. We see the times that he is at the Marine training camp with his best friend Devin (Jai Courtney), the times where his is home with his son and wife (Kate Mara), the time where he is in combat in Afghanistan, and then the post-apocalyptic times where he is searching for his son. It was a bit hard at first to determine what parts where happening at what time in his life, but eventually it wasn't too bad to follow along.

As the story unfolds, is evident that his experiences overseas were traumatic. Some men from this group don't make it, and it is sadly on his shoulders. Watching everything unfold and fall into place in the story-line was a bit boring, but still left me amazed at how it all fit together. 

The title of the movie comes from a secret "code" that Gabriel and his son, Johnny, have. Johnny was getting picked on at school because his mom said "I love you" to him when dropping him off. Gabriel developed a secret saying that only the two of them would know that really means "I love you." And that saying was "Man Down." Though "Man Down" is a sad saying that they use in combat or in the field, it works for the two of them. 

I was impressed with the connection that Shia LaBeouf and Charlie Shotwell (Johnny) had together. 

As I mentioned before, the majority of the movie was pretty boring. But it was filmed well and the effects were that which you'd expect in a military movie. It wasn't until the last 20 minutes or so that I felt myself really liking this movie. The "surprise" twist at the end was perfect and fit all the puzzle pieces together so nicely. I always love when movies are tied together with a bow at the end and don't leave unanswered questions. 

I'm going to give this movie a "liked it." It truly gave the viewer the feeling that Gabriel was going through during the entire film and an understanding of what must be going through some soldiers' minds during and after coming back from war along with the challenges they are faced with day to day.

Thank you for your service.  
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