Movie Review: MAN ON A LEDGE Made Me Want To Jump!

After seeing Man on a Ledge I actually felt like jumping off of a building. The film stars Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell, Genesis Rodriguez, Anthony Mackie, Edward Burns, Ed Harris, and Kyra Sedgwick. Part heist movie, part mystery, with way too much going on, this movie will leave you unimpressed with everyone involved. 

First-time director Asger Leth helmed the thriller based on a dreadful script by Pablo F. Fenjves. The story follows ex-cop Nick Cassidy (Worthington), who is framed for stealing David Englander's (Harris) diamond - a crime he supposedly did not commit.  Cassidy is sentenced to jail and forced to escape. To prove his innocence, he steps out onto a Manhattan hotel ledge and threatens to jump to his death in order to gain attention for his case. While all eyes are on the man on a ledge, his brother and his girlfriend are hard at work trying to prove the diamond was never stolen. Can Cassidy prove his innocence? You will have to watch the movie to see.

A convoluted story and a poorly written script are at the top of my list of complaints. Ed Harris is so much better than this film. If you want to see him play a bad guy, I recommend you watch/re-watch A History of Violence. Hollywood, If you are going to cast Anthony Mackie in a movie please make more use of him onscreen. I would rather have seen him in the part that Ed Burns played. Worthington is hard to believe as a NY Cop. His accent comes through numerous times during the film. I was hoping that Worthington would get his career back on track with this film, but I was sorely mistaken. 

If you are looking for action, you are in the wrong place with this film. Most of the action takes place near the end, but it is still highly unbelievable. I am fine with suspending disbelief, but I'm not giving my brain away. For a heist movie to work, you have to have a believable situations. To believe that Bell and Rodriguez could pull off a heist is ridiculous. 

In conclusion, I can not recommend anyone pay to see Man on a Ledge in theaters. It was a waste of time and money, with very little pay-off. Close your eyes and and throw a dart at just about any other heist movie and you will find a better one than this. 

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