Man on a Ledge

Starring: Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Ed Harris, Edward Burns, Anthony Mackie, Jamie Bell, Kyra Sedgwick, Genesis Rodriguez, Titus Welliver, William Sadler
Directed by: Asger Leth
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Thriller
2012

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An escaped convict (Sam Worthington) steps out on a ledge in New York City, seemingly ready to jump to his death. However, this move puts into play an elaborate plan to prove his innocence.

Review:

Tim: I liked Man on a Ledge more than I thought I would, but still not enough for me to consider this a great movie. The film is a twisting, turning crime thriller that really keeps the audience guessing. It was an entertaining movie, although it's one with some series flaws. While I wouldn't highly recommend the film or sing its praises too loudly, I did enjoy watching it.

The cast is definitely a big reason why I liked the movie. Sam Worthington is good in the lead role. I'm still not convinced he has what it takes to be a truly great actor, but he did fine in this role. He never really wowed me, but I didn't have any major complaints, either. I liked seeing Elizabeth Banks here, although I feel like she may have been a bit miscast. Banks gives a good performance and I was impressed with the energy she brought. I just didn't always believe her in the role.

Ed Harris makes a pretty good bad guy, although his character did seem a bit one-dimensional. I loved seeing Edward Burns here. While he doesn't have anything especially important to do in the film, I've always been a big Burns fan, and this movie is better because he's in it. Anthony Mackie and Jamie Bell both add good performances, but neither is really great. Kyra Sedgwick felt completely wasted in a very small role. I thought Titus Welliver did a good job, save for a few moments when I just did not believe his acting. I wasn't overly impressed with anything Genesis Rodriguez did. Overall, though, the film features a very strong cast.

While I enjoyed the plot and admit it kept me interested, it all felt a bit too Hollywood to me. The story is certainly elaborate and the heist is impressive, but I just wonder about the ability to put all of this in motion, let alone actually pull it off. It is a bit hard to believe that a bunch of amateurs could even get close to pulling something like this off. That aspect of the film is a bit too far-fetched for me. I also have to mention that I absolutely hated the forced banter between Jamie Bell and Genesis Rodriguez. This was unfunny, and Rodriguez is not a good actor by any stretch. These scenes were almost painful to watch. I understand the desire to create some levity and give the film a touch of comedy, but the banter simply did not work on any level and it greatly hurts the movie.

Man on a Ledge does feature a surprisingly complicated story. If you are able to suspend your disbelief at the more outrageous aspects, it is fairly entertaining and mostly keeps you entertained (there were a few moments when a movie slows too much and I just wanted something to happen to move the story forward). The film does feature some pretty stunning shots of the various players out on the ledge over New York City. Those shots were pretty impressive.

While the movie does a lot right, there's just a bit too many flaws here. I would say that Man on a Ledge is a good movie, but it should have been better. I mostly enjoyed it, though. While it's not an incredibly memorable film, the story is entertaining enough to hold our attention for a few hours.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Phone Booth, The Debt, Inside Man