Man On A Ledge is an edge of your seat suspense thriller that will really keep you guessing until the end. I am not sure why, but I did not hear anything about this movie until I saw the trailer for it in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. I do not know why Summit Entertainment did not put more into the promoting of this film. I know recently other actors/actresses that have been upset at Summit because they felt other films were taking a huge back seat to Summit Entertainment promoting The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1, which in a sense does make some sense as to why I did not hear about Man On A Ledge until just a month before it came out. The story focuses on Nick Cassidy, an ex-cop who after escaping prison for a crime he claims he was set up for, set out to prove his innocence while on a ledge twenty one stories up. It is then that we learn that he is on the ledge merely as a distraction while the rest of his team is across the street breaking in to steal the $40 million diamond he was convicted of stealing from our villain Robert Englander.
Sam Worthington stars as Nick Cassidy. Washington shows a lot in this role which is not an easy thing simply because a majority of the film he is on a ledge. By being on a ledge his whole believability relies on his ability to bring the necessary emotion to the role so the audience buys in to him and wants to root for everything to turn in his favor. Not having a lot of other things going Worthington does a great job at giving the natural fear one would have while standing on a ledge to the absolute determination he has in his own innocence. Worthington definitely shows the potential he has to be a great A-list actor. Along with Worthington, we have Elizabeth Banks in the role of agent Mercer, the hostage negotiator that Cassidy specifically asks for does a great job as well. Like Cassidy's character Mercer is carrying a lot of emotional baggage into the negotiation situation, since her last negotiation did not end well and the way that has not only affected her, but her relationships with the other cops she regularly interacts with. Banks really plays her character well, because with the limited movement she has to rely on her emotions to make the impression to the audience in how sincere she is in wanting to help not only the situation have a positive result, but also in her believing Cassidy's declaration of innocence. This is the first movie I can remember in seeing that Banks was in a serious role and not a comedy. Banks worked well with Worthington in that there chemistry worked so perfectly together.
The rest of the supporting cast do decent jobs and they all bring great elements to the movie. The other two members of Cassidy's team of Jamie Bell and Genesis Rodriguez play off each other well and they have a great banter back and forth that not only brings great laughs throughout but really helps to lessen the intensity of the movie at times. Ed Harris in his very minimal role of Englander, our villain does a good job, that the audience does not like him.
The story for Man On A Ledge just simply worked for me not only as a strong edge of your seat thriller, but it had a story that is strong enough to be compared with other stories for movies that are across different genres. With the premise of a man who claims to have been framed and then sets out to prove his innocence is nothing new, but the fact he is practically stationary on the ledge and serves as a distraction while the rest of his team is trying to prove his innocence is something new to me that was a nice twist to the usual story. As the story progresses the director Asger Leth gives a few nice twists and turns that truly do a great job at helping the pacing move at a steady pace that does not make it feel rushed or dragging. the directing of Asger Leth is new to me as this is the first movie that I have seen his directing, he definitely has a lot of promise. the greatest aspect in the story that really attests to the strength of Worthington's performance is how much the audience can hate Englander even though as the villain he is barely on screen. The distaste for the villain really relies on Worthington's conviction against Englander and the corruption of Englander is what takes the audience hate of the villain to the next level.
Man On A Ledge is an edge of your seat thriller that weaves a great story into the suspense from the first moment until the very end. The movie was entertaining throughout and it really did a great job at keeping me guessing in trying to figure out what was going to happen next. Worthington and Banks really worked well together and really carried this movie and showed their definite future star power. I am giving Man On A Ledge three and a quarter buckets of popcorn out of five. This is a movie that was worth my time and really is worth the price to see in a theater. This movie will definitely end up in the collection eventually.
-The Movie Man
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