By Joe Suszczynski
Man on a Ledge is a pretty simple movie with a small twist. An ex-cop named Nick Cassidy, played by Sam Worthington, is framed for a crime he didn’t commit. After escaping custody at his father’s funeral, he hides in a hotel where he proceeds to stand over the ledge of the 21st floor of said hotel.
Officer Lydia Mercer, played by Elizabeth Banks, is called in by request of Cassidy, who tries to talk him out of jumping—even though she has failed before.
Now here’s the twist: while Cassidy and Mercer are talking, Nick’s brother, Joey, along with his girlfriend, Angie, are breaking into the building of the man who Nick supposedly thinks set him up, David Englander, portrayed by Ed Harris.
This movie is not a four star masterpiece, nor is it a total box office failure. I see this being less than a middle of the road film. The one thing I can definitely praise in this movie is Harris’ acting. Out of all the actors he does the best job at playing the antagonist. He seemed convincing throughout.
I have a criticism of Worthington’s acting. For the most part, his character was believable. The thing that seemed to get in the way of Worthington was his accent. His American accent is pretty convincing, but when I hear Worthington screaming or talking in a yelling voice, his Australian accent always crept in.
The plot, though somewhat clever, was pretty straightforward. Not all plots need to be complex, but if someone is going to make a simple plot at least get competent actors that can play their respected parts well and distract the audience with stunning visuals so it supplements the simplicity.
Another problem I have with this movie is the stunts that are performed. Now don’t get me wrong, high altitude action stunts are amazing to look at, but only if it is either convincing or at least plausible. This is not a high tech sci-fi movie like The Matrix, nor does Worthington’s character have any superhuman skills, therefore some of the stunts performed did not look real.
This is just another blockbuster movie that is low on plot, but tries to redeem itself with visuals. Sadly, it doesn’t even succeed at doing that. It’s not worth seeing at $10 dollars a ticket, let alone the six I paid. If anything, wait to rent it.
