Man on a Ledge sort of gives you what it advertises. There's a man and he's on a ledge, but the film isn't clever or patient enough to stick to a single location. This is not Phone Booth or Buried.
The story kicks off with Sam Worthington checking into the ritzy Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan. He orders a hearty breakfast consisting of lobster and champagne before writing a suicide note and stepping onto the ledge.
The story shifts back several months to reveal Worthington as disgraced police officer Nick Cassidy, who was sent to prison for stealing a $40 million diamond from real estate tycoon David Englander (Ed Harris). Turns out, Englander lost a fortune in the financial collapse and stole the diamond himself to collect the insurance money. With the help of corrupt cops, he was able to frame Cassidy, who managed to escape from prison.
Cassidy initiates an elaborate plan to prove his innocence and get revenge on Englander. His suicide ploy is meant only as a diversion to allow his brother, Joey (Jamie Bell), and Joey's girlfriend, Angie (Genesis Rodriguez), to break into Englander's vault and find the diamond.
Elizabeth Banks appears as a negotiator on leave following a failed attempt to prevent a rookie cop from jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge. There's also Ed Burns as another detective on the scene, Anthony Mackie as Cassidy's former partner, Titus Welliver as a SWAT commander, Kyra Sedgwick in a tiny role as news reporter Suzie Morales, and a whole host of onlookers. In classic New York fashion, they urge Cassidy to take the plunge in the hopes of recording it on their smartphones. Rounding out the cast is William Sadler in a seemingly throwaway part as a hotel valet. It's clear the valet will play a much larger role in the scheme based on the simple fact they cast such a notable character actor.
Man on a Ledge is essentially a heist movie, but the actual heist is glaringly pedestrian. Englander employs a supposedly state-of-the-art system, yet it's easily bypassed by crawling through a few air ducts and slicing the obligatory red wire. These scenes are made all the more sillier by the curvaceous Genesis Rodriguez typecast as a feisty Latina, which seems to be the only kind of Latina in cinema. She repels down elevator shafts and dangles above the floor Mission: Impossible-style while never removing her hoop earrings. Rodriguez even finds a flimsy excuse to strip down to her lace underwear. The gratuitous butt shots are a welcome relief from the inane banter she shares with Jamie Bell. It mostly consists of Joey asking Angie if he's given her the best sex she's ever had.
We never get any explanation as to how they acquired the schematics for Englander's building and security. The movie also makes a big deal about Cassidy wiping his fingerprints within the hotel room, yet the police could have easily lifted them from the window or the outside wall when he climbed out.
The interplay between Worthington and Banks doesn't fare much better than their co-stars'. Banks gives a solid performance, but her perfunctory backstory never fully meshes since we know Cassidy has no intention of jumping. Worthington has his fair share of critics, but I find he's a decent action hero. Here, he's forced to emote far more and isn't able to rise to the occasion. The sheer presence of Ed Harris makes up for Worthington's blandness. Harris plays the villain with cackling, cartoonish glee allowing Man on a Ledge to serve as a silly catharsis with the working class man triumphing against the corporate elite.
Despite a contrived script and a wealth of plot holes, Man on a Ledge is slickly shot by cinematographer Paul Cameron (Collateral) and Dutch director Asger Leth, a documentarian making his narrative debut. It's forgettable and not worth the effort to see the in the theaters. However, Man on a Ledge is worth a rental or a perusal on Netflix Instant should you be willing to check your brain at the door and have a lazy weekend afternoon to kill.
Rating: ** (*****)
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