by Nicole · January 26, 2012
Asger Leth – Thriller - USA
Release Date (Australia): 6th February 2012
Man on a Ledge is an action film centered around Nick Cassidy, an ex-cop with nothing to lose who happens to be standing on a ledge. I was rather excited to be seeing this film because I do enjoy a good action film. I was not expecting much but rather hoping it would provide for some comic relief. Sam Worthington takes the lead in this film with Elizabeth Banks as the female lead.
The plot is slightly more complex than films such as Photobooth as it has a more developed back-story and a few concurrent action sequences playing out. Cassidy is actually an ex-cop trying to prove his innocence in a rather elaborate plot against ‘the man’, Englander played by Ed Harris. It is a fairly average set up with minor intricacies that have been done many times over, but once you get past the completely average story the film became quite fun.
This was the first time I had seen Banks in a more serious role and I have always been fond of Worthington since Bootmen. Banks gives a solid performance as a negotiator and Worthington, well, Worthington has the same mixed accent as in Call of Duty but still gives the role some justice. Billy Elliot star Jamie Bell is cast as the younger Cassidy brother and seems to have the American accent much more down pat than Worthington.
Man on a Ledge
The film provides an air of exaggeration from the first scene. This led to a lot of eye rolling on my part but once I got past that I was ready to enjoy whatever the film had to offer. Although cheap at times, the suspense was rather gripping and I became caught up in the story before I had time to realize. Although very generic, even down to the Luke Wilson lookalike character actor Edward Burns as a Detective, the film had it’s moments. The New York crowd stationed below the ledge is particularly interesting and comprises the usual crazies, a bunch of people yelling for him to jump and a reporter hell bent on any story even though she looks like a heartless jackass. This provides some light comic relief to the backdrop of repetitive action sequences.
There isn’t a whole lot to say about this film. If you enjoy an action film, it is worth a watch but if it isn’t your genre or you only ironically like films with Jean Claude Van Damme or Bruce Willis then this is not the film for you. This was a fun film that didn’t break any barriers or provide many surprises.
