MAN ON A LEDGE
**1/2
DIRECTED BY Asger Leth
STARS Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks
For a flick that ended up getting shoved to January, Man on a Ledge sure sports a cast that would look right at home on a year-end release date. Move past thudding lead Sam Worthington (still flailing about in his bid to become The Next Big Thing; dude, if Avatar and a Terminator sequel couldn’t do it for ya…) and filmgoers will find the likes of Ed Harris, Anthony Mackie, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell and more. And it’s a good thing for this film’s makers that all concerned signed on the dotted line, since it gives considerable heft to a movie that otherwise might have gone straight to DVD.
Worthington plays Nick Cassidy, a wrongly incarcerated ex-cop who manages to escape from prison, thereby enabling him to put into motion a complex scheme in which his role is to … well, check out the title. Banks stirs sympathy as a guilt-ridden police negotiator, Bell and Genesis Rodriguez make a cute couple as Nick’s brother and his feisty squeeze, and Harris brings a dash of classy menace to his too-few scenes as a ruthless titan of industry. It’s all fast-paced nonsense, easy to take but not quite engaging enough to warrant a night out at the movies. Yeah, best to wait for that DVD.
This article appears in Jan 24-30, 2012.
Man on a Ledge 4 STAR! GOOD MOVIE! PG13 102 min-Crime|Thriller Starring Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell and Ed Harris. Filming took place in New York.
WHEN A MOVIE IS SUCH AN INTENSE THRILLER THAT YOU ARE THE ONE WANTING TO BE ON THE LEDGE HELPING THE THIEF, YOU’VE PROBABLY CROSSED THE POLICE LINE. THE VIEW STRAIGHT DOWN FROM THE 21st FLOOR OF NEW YORK’s ROOSEVELT HOTEL IS ASTOUNDING. BETTER BRING YOUR SEAT BELT TO THIS ONE AS YOU WILL BE CAPTIVATED FROM THE BEGINNING AND HANGING ON FOR A RESCUE. HOWEVER, THE TWISTS AND TURNS WILL NOT BE DIVULGED UNTIL THE VERY END, AND WHAT A FINALE! CONGRATULATIONS TO DIRECTOR ASGER LETH AND TO THE WRITERS AND CAST FOR A SUPERB JOB! LOOKING INTO NICK CASSIDY’s (SAM WORTHINGTON’s) EYES WHILE HE’S ON THE LEDGE CAPTURE YOU TO HIS PLIGHT AND RESCUE. DON’T BET ON ANYTHING WITH THIS ONE AS A DIAMOND HEIST IS ALSO UNDERWAY. CROSS THE LINE TO CATCH THIS THIEF – GOOD ENTERTAINMENT!! 4 OF 5 STARS ****