Review: “Man on a Ledge” high on flash, falls short of greatness

January 27th, 2012 at 12:00 am by Laff at the Movies under Entertainment

When I saw the first trailer for “Man on a Ledge”, it seemed like I’d seen this movie before… a little like “Fugitive”, a little like “Phone Booth”, a bit like “Inside Man”, with a little “Blue Streak” mixed in, plus about a dozen other crime thrillers. While entertaining, it lacked the best of these movies: true suspense, mystery, edginess, action, strong characters and comedic relief.

This crime thriller is not a waste of time or money, it was better than I expected, just keep your expectations lower and if you go see it now, you won’t be disappointed.

"Man on a Ledge" poster courtesy Summit Entertainment

(My spoiler-free review)

Sam Worthington has proven he can handle the role of leading man in an action movie, but in “Man on a Ledge”, he’s the central figure who does very little action and a lot more standing on that ledge. For as much as he tries/is written for him to evoke emotion and suspense, I never truly felt like he was conveying all the neccessary emotions to build his dramatic performance.

Most of this talented cast seemed to be walking through it nonchalantly too… there’s a guy about to jump of the 21st floor of a New York City building!!! People on the street below are kind of freaking out, the over-the-top New York media is playing it up (although just one reporter is on the scene- Kyra Sedgwick). But everyone else is just kind of going through the motions. I never felt like anyone was fully devoted to their characters or felt that they were totally real, except for Jamie Bell and Genesis Rodriguez… who play Worthington’s brother and future sister-in-law who love and fight like a normal couple throughout the “ordeal”.

Elizabeth Banks, Anthony Mackie, Ed Burns, Ed Harris, and Sedgwick have all done much better work than what we see here, its like they all showed up to the set and said, yeah, this is easy… and just started spitting out their lines of dialogue until the director (Asger Leth, making his feature film debut), yelled cut! I expect more when I see this kind of acting talent on the screen and in the cast list.

Luckily the story, although quite cliche, does keep us interested … (not giving anything away) there’s twists and red herrings, some intensity in editing and camera work, and some characters who may or may not be what they seem. Its all pretty standard fare, but my compliment is, that despite seeing this sort of thing before, it still kept me interested.

The movie also does well using some quality filmmaking techniques: using contrasting high/low camera angles, making the main character an underdog who’s trying to clear his name, setting up a series of challenges to keep the audience interested, and introducing little clues along the way to keep us guessing. Unfortunately once you have figured everything out (whether its sooner or later), it turns into an act of just watching the movie come to an end.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

“Man on a Ledge” is an engaging thriller that’s good, not great, but was better than I expected… I give it 6.5 out of 10. I made the leap of faith … but when it was all over, I wasn’t terribly impressed, just mildly entertained for 102 minutes.

Sam Worthington in "Man on a Ledge" photo courtesy Summit Entertainment

“Man on a Ledge”

(2012) (rated: PG-13 for violence and brief strong language)
(1 hr, 42 min)

Starring: Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell, Anthony Mackie, Mandy Gonzalez, Genesis Rodriguez, Ed Burns, Ed Harris, Kyra Sedgwick, Titus Welliver, Terry Serpico

Director: Asger Leth

Genre: Crime/Thriller

The Plot: A police psychologist works to talk down an ex-con who is threatening to jump from a Manhattan hotel rooftop, trying to clear his name from a jewelry heist that sent him to prison.

So what did you think? Please post a comment!

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“Man on a Ledge” poster and photo courtesy Summit Entertainment

Laff at the Movies