Movie Review and News

Movie review: “Man on a Ledge” – NewsOK.com (blog)

on January 27, 2012M at 7:07 am

From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman. 2 1/2 of 4 stars.

Movie review: “Man on a Ledge”The high-stakes action-thriller effectively keeps viewers on the edge of their seats for much of its runtime before eventually slipping into conventional cinematic territory.

The high-stakes action-thriller “Man on a Ledge” effectively keeps viewers on the edge of their seats for much of its runtime before eventually slipping into conventional cinematic territory.

With its unique if farfetched premise, the debut feature from Asger Leth, who previously directed the gritty Haitian gang documentary “Ghosts of Cité Soleil,” also boasts a twisty story, which he effectively unveils in tantalizing little pieces. Of course, the mystery only really surprises if you haven’t seen the too-revealing trailers for the film.

Australian actor Sam Worthington stars Nick Cassidy, a former New York City policeman wrongly convicted of stealing a $ 40 million diamond from coldblooded businessman David Englander (University of Oklahoma alumnus Ed Harris). Imprisoned in Sing Sing, the ex-cop is a favorite punching bag among the inmates, and it seems that everyone except his loyal former partner Mike Ackerman (Anthony Mackie) has forsaken him. Cassidy readily admits to the prison psychiatrist that he has considered suicide.

When he is furloughed to attend his father’s funeral, Cassidy tangles with his younger brother Joey (personal favorite Jamie Bell) and then makes breathtaking escape. A few days later, he checks into the historic Roosevelt Hotel, eats a lavish meal that could be his last, wipes the room clean of fingerprints and then steps outside onto the narrow ledge 200 feet above 45th Street in midtown Manhattan.

When police negotiator Jack Dougherty (Edward Burns) arrives on the scene, Cassidy demands to speak instead with Dougherty’s rival, Lydia Mercer (Elizabeth Banks), whose life, confidence and standing with the department have been shaken since an encounter with a jumper that went terribly wrong.

Mercer quickly realizes that Cassidy isn’t your typical jumper, and as she learns his identity and listens to his pleas of innocence, she suspects he has more in mind than just being heard.

While his brother seizes the attention of people on the street and an ambulance-chasing TV journalist (Kyra Sedgwick), Joey and his faithful girlfriend Angie (TV star Genesis Rodriguez in her winning big-screen debut) carry out a fantastic scheme to prove in dramatic fashion that Cassidy has been falsely accused.

Go-to action guy Worthington ably leads the strong, diverse cast. He creates a character a bit more intriguing and worthy of cheering on than the generic ciphers he played in “Avatar” and “Clash of the Titans,” and he and Banks forge solid chemistry from opposite sides of the hotel window. They filmed their scenes on the ledge on a real-life strip of the Roosevelt Hotel’s exterior that is actually 21 stories above the ground, and their fear and caution get the audience’s adrenaline sympathetically pumping.

Safe on the ground, Burns and Mackie are still as stalwart as ever, while Harris gleefully chews scenery as the baddie Occupy Wall Street supporters will particularly love to hate.

But Bell and Rodriguez nearly steal the film as smart-mouth lovers on a secret mission, bringing just the right amount of sexy banter and comic relief to the proceedings.

Eventually, the action becomes too grounded in the usual action-movie clichés we’ve seen so many times. But between the realistic scares of the ledge and the taut suspense of the story, “Man on a Ledge” reaches entertaining heights before the drop off.

— BAM

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