What do you think this movie is about? Could it possibly be about a man standing very close to the precipice? Well, you’re right, this is a movie about exactly that but also about something entirely else. Behind the deceptively descriptive title Man on a Ledge hides an exciting and upbeat heist movie with a twist. And while the atmosphere was excellent along with the performances, the script could’ve been much better. If it had been better, we would be talking about a new masterpiece but since it wasn’t, we’re talking about just another thriller.
I absolutely positively love the cast of this movie. Sam Worthington and Jamie Bell were good but not as good as Elizabeth Banks and Genesis Rodriguez. To be quite honest, I kind of fell in love with Genesis, I think she’s going to do great things in the future. And this was her first role ever! Ed Harris wasn’t looking too good here, I hope he’s okay but he also gave a solid performance. Man on a Ledge is one of those thrillers that you just need to play. Don’t think about it, don’t read the reviews or watch the trailer, just play it.
It’s entertaining and it features just enough twists to keep the story going. It reminds me a bit of the nineties classic The Negotiator starring Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey. Although the atmosphere here is much more cheerful despite the difficult circumstances. The circumstance I’m talking about is the man on a fucking ledge. And if you have a fear of heights, like I do, some of these scenes will feel a bit uncomfortable. Uncomfortable and exciting, since it’s not me that’s standing there.
I wonder how the actors feel when they have to film these scenes. At first, I thought this was done through special effects or something but no, Sam Worthington was actually standing on the ledge. The special effects were used to delete the cables and the harness he had on for safety reasons. And Sam admitted to having a fear of heights, which is one of the main reasons he wanted to do the movie. So, he ended up on the real ledge of the Roosevelt Hotel, over 200 feet above 45th Street in Manhattan.
Meet Nick Cassidy, an ex-cop now imprisoned on a charge of Grand Theft Diamond in Sing Sing. However, Nick claims he’s innocent and he intends to do anything he can to prove that. At his father’s funeral, he overcomes two guards and escapes. Nick turns up a month later at a Manhattan hotel rooftop threatening to jump. His only demand is to see Lydia Mercer, a down-on-her-luck negotiator who recently failed to talk a fellow police officer out of the suicide. Nick is claiming that he has been framed by someone working inside the police for the diamond heist…
Despite the whole negotiation thing, Man on a Ledge features a lot of action. It opens with a bang and it just keeps going. Featuring a standard running time of 95 minutes, it’s lean and mean. It’s also a kind of a throwback to all those cool eighties action movies and thrillers with a twist.
Director: Asger Leth
Writer: Pablo F. Fenjves
Cast: Sam Worthington, Genesis Rodriguez, Elizabeth Banks, Edward Burns, Ed Harris, Jamie Bell
Fun Facts: The women on the neighboring buildings were holding up three signs and they said: “Jump in to my arms”, “We are with you!” and “Single?”.
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IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1568338/
