Man on a Ledge (2012)Director: Asger Leth
Writer: Pablo F. Fenjves
Cast: Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Anthony Mackie, Jamie Bell, Edward Burns
Run Time: 102 min
"Man on a Ledge" was recently released on Blu-Ray and stars Sam Worthington as Nick Cassidy, a man determined to prove his innocence for a crime he possibly didn't commit. After escaping from prison, he unwraps an elaborate plan that warrants the focus and attention from the police force in the city, by threatening to jump from the ledge of a highrise hotel building. With all eyes fixed on him atop the building, his brother, played by Jamie Bell, sets out to steal the same diamond that Nick was originally accused of stealing two years back. If he can uncover the diamond before the cops and bad guys catch on to their plan, he can prove his brother's innocence.
Overall, the film is entertaining. It provides all the prototypical thrills and pacing that you'd expect and want from a flashy heist movie such as this. All of the actors on the screen were generally easy to watch, though I can't think of any one of them that really stood out more than the rest; it was all competent acting but no one provided much more. The personalities all worked well though and made it all easy to absorb. The story was fun and offered just enough of a twist on the regular format to keep me interested throughout. For the most part it was all pretty expected in terms of the process and reveals though. There were still a couple little things that surprised me, and that was more than I expected.
I realize that none of those statements are very powerful either way, and all kind of float in that middle ground, offering little definitiveness. But that's generally how I felt coming away from this movie. It's an enjoyable watch, but don't ever think this is anything more than just another installment for the genre. The pacing and editing is all done fast enough to keep this one moving throughout and keep you fixed to the action. And though Worthington's character remains on the ledge of a building 90% of the time, there are enough peripheral characters and storylines moving around to not feel stale.
I was happy to watch this over my weekend though, as it provided an enjoyable hour and a half of mindless entertainment. I originally opted against this one in theaters, and though I would have left with the same feelings of contentment that I have now, I'm not at all upset that I opted against this movie then, and know that there's not much I missed out on with that experience. Blu-Ray on a big-screen TV is the perfect venue for movie. Don't expect much more than mindless, thrill-driven entertainment, but don't expect much less either.
