Can Shia LaBeouf make a comeback? | The Tylt

Below is the synopsis of "Man Down," per IMDB:

In a post-apocalyptic America, former U.S. Marine Gabriel Drummer searches desperately for the whereabouts of his son, accompanied by his best friend and a survivor.

The synopsis sounds appealing, but audiences were not excited enough to go see it in 2017. In Shia's defense, the movie only opened in one theater in the U.K. But years of fighting against being a movie star and publicly calling out filmmakers might've taken a toll on Shia's star power.  

He's become a performance artist, indie actor, activist and a celebrity punchline. Maybe making indie films will become a good change for him. Maybe he's just finding his footing. After all, he is one of the few Disney child stars to become a legit actor.

So, is this the end of an once-promising career? Indiewire's Graham Winfrey argues Shia is in desperate need of a career reboot:

To his credit, LaBeouf has also ventured behind the camera, directing five short films in the past five years and serving as an executive producer on filmmaker Alma Ha’rel’s 2016 experimental doc “LoveTrue.” Still, he needs to take on more consistent acting work if he’s going to reboot his career. LaBeouf is a talented artist who should be starring in more than one movie per year.

It’s one thing to be choosy about roles, but when you’re making more headlines for your offscreen antics and record-low box office results than you are for your acting work, it’s probably time to rethink your career strategy.

But Shia is still making movies. He's gaining some buzz for his transformation portraying his father in "Honey Boy." Shia is taking on more serious roles and breaking away from being a movie star. There's nothing wrong with that, especially if he gets a resurgence of critical acclaim. 

Entertainment Weekly's Aja Hoggatt wrote:

The Transformers actor is currently filming Honey Boy, in which he is portraying a character based on his father. In the photo below, a fully transformed LaBeouf can be seen sitting on a sandhill, donning overalls, a balding head of hair, a cigarette balanced in his mouth, and wire-rimmed glasses.

Even when "Man Down" came out last year, some critics came to Shia's defense. Detroit News' Adam Graham argued Shia does a good job carrying the film. Shia is a big-name star. He could still recover from this.

LaBeouf, who oozed oily charisma in this year’s 'American Honey,' ably carries 'Man Down' on his shoulders. He has an easy, natural chemistry with Shotwell, and he’s a reservoir of buried emotions in his scenes with Oldman.

On top of bad movie choices, Shia has demonstrated erratic behavior in recent years. He received backlash for plagiarism, movie flops and a racist rant. Forbes' Dani Di Placido detailed his downfall: 

As much as I like to make fun of Shia, his downfall has been tragic, even if it appears to be mostly self-inflicted. One can only imagine what living the surreal life of a celebrity does to an individual’s mind. Some people, like Tom Cruise, appear to thrive on international stardom. But, then again, Tom Cruise is not actually human.

LaBeouf is obviously not a natural celebrity. Perhaps he should retreat from public life altogether, and focus on ridding himself of whatever ailment troubles him; it can’t be easy to do so when the world is watching.