So you’re sitting there in theater waiting to watch a movie and you see the trailers right? You see this movie come up with Mr. Avatar Sam Worthington and he’s on ledge of the building and then the title comes up on screen, Man on a Ledge. Your first thought is-you’re kidding right? Like Really? Really. That’s the best you can come up with. Then you see the rest of the cast, oh Ed Burns I like that guy. Elizabeth Banks-yeah I like her too. Ed Harris, that’s my man right there. So now you’re thinking you want to see this movie huh. Well let’s just see about that.

Man on a Ledge is a movie about a man named Nick Cassidy, a former cop who is currently serving time for crime he says he didn’t commit. See Nick has a plan, he’s going to stand on a ledge in the middle of Manhattan in the middle of the day and act like he’s going to jump all the while his younger brother and his girlfriend attempt to steal a diamond that Nick currently in jail for stealing proving he never stole it. Now there are twists and turns with his old Partner and dirty cops. Then there is Nick trying to make Elizabeth Banks’ character, Lydia Mercer believe him which of course means romantic sub plot.

So at first glance this movie seems like it could be interesting, the trailer people did a great job with that but what is on the screen is totally not. Everything happens as you think it would. Sam Worthington really isn’t even trying to act or change his accent from Australian to New York Irish American. Ed Burns while likable is not doing much. It feels like he’s just cashing a check so he can go make an indie film somewhere else in the city. I was surprised to Anthony Mackie in the movie, his part actually has some of the bright spots in the movie.
There were some weird out of place sexy women shots in the movie though. Like for some reason when we first see Lydia we see her waking up in a white t-shirt that is sort of see through and her nipples are hard. All the while wondering why is this in the movie? Hmm. Also the Nick’s brother Joey is with his girlfriend Angie breaking into a building and POW she’s in underwear to get into a skin tight sneaking suit. Those were just two of the WTF moments in this movie. Both of those scene doesn’t serve the story so why are they there?

So what we have here in Man on a Ledge is pretty much what you would expect from a January release. A plain and tired heist movie with an interesting setup that is basically wasted with a lame script and uninspired performances throughout the entire piece. The movie feels like a B-movie version of a TNT hour long prime time show that you have to pay for. Sit this one out people.
Final Grade is a D

Originally published on Reel Film News