Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington) is wrongly imprisoned for stealing a $40 million diamond from millionaire David Englander (Ed Harris). He breaks out of prison and is later found at the rooftop of a Manhattan hotel, ready to jump to his death. Crowds quickly fill the streets as all eyes are on the potential jumper. Cassidy requests to speak to police psychologists, Lydia Mercer (Elizabeth Banks) who is assigned to talk him out of jumping.
As time passes on the ledge, Mercer begins to suspect that this is no ordinary jumper. Cassidy finally admits the real reason he is up there is to prove to the world that he is an innocent man. It is then revealed that Cassidy, along with his brother, Joey (Jamie Bell), and brother’s girlfriend, Angie (Genesis Rodriguez), have put together a ‘Mission: Impossible’ type plan.
While the plot summary presents some clichés and an unimaginative plot –starting with the title– with the right twists and surprises, Man on the Ledge had the potential of being a great edge-of-your-seat film, especially with the talented Elizabeth Banks and Ed Harris starring. Unfortunately, any plot twists this movie throws at us we had already seen coming a mile away.
Supporting actors, Jamie Bell and Genesis Rodriguez, filled in the comic relief roles, and while their performances are somewhat entertaining, they also bore and run out of one-liners towards the end. They were probably aware of this and in an attempt to keep the audience awake, particularly men, Rodriguez unnecessarily strips down to her underwear, a trick that only works for a few minutes.
The ending is very predictable; the title might as well be Man on the Ledge is Innocent. Still, even though it should not be classified under ‘thriller’, and in spite of all I stated, Man on the Ledge is by far the worst. It won’t blow your mind away, but if you’re looking for a decent popcorn flick to pass the time, check it out, when it goes out on DVD and Blu-ray of course. I wouldn’t recommend it for theaters.
Man on a Ledge is now in Dallas theaters.
It is rated PG-13
Running time is approximately 1 hour and 42 minutes.
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© 2012 Sandra Perez, All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced in any way without prior permissions from the author or Clarity Digital Group LLC d/b/a Examiner.com
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