Release Date: 1/27/2012
Man on a Ledge stars Sam Worthington as Nick Cassidy, a man framed for stealing a diamond and then sentenced to prison. The borderline suicidal ex-cop makes a prison break and flees to prove his innocence. He stages a scene convincing the New York public and broadcast news that he’s going to jump off a building. The diamond was supposedly stolen from the most powerful and wealthiest man in New York, David Englander (Ed Harris), who owns his own jewelry business.
Worthington (Terminator: Salvation, Avatar, Clash of the Titans) plays a very convincing character alongside supporting actress Elizabeth Banks as Lydia Mercer. Mercer is a police psychiatrist who has not too long ago tried to aid another police officer in not committing suicide. She failed in her duty and now the cop’s death hangs on her conscience. She has another chance to redeem herself with Cassidy, who specifically requests for her aid fully knowing that she failed before. Banks plays a very convincing psychiatrist under high stress, but still willing to go out on a limb to save her fellow police officers. She’s also convincingly very keen to lies and knows how to react in her given circumstance.
While everyone thinks he is going jump, Cassidy’s brother Joey (Jamie Bell from The Adventures of Tintin, Billy Elliot) – with the aid of his girlfriend – is across the street performing a heist to rob Englander of the diamond. The powerful businessman framed Cassidy to collect 40 million dollars more from his insurance because he was in debt.
The movie starts with a very good back-story that leads up to Cassidy’s motives. The melodramatic scenes are a bit lengthy and the action scenes are a little too fast. If you’re a fan of taut-suspenseful action thrillers, this movie delivers. Man on a Ledge has an altogether good pace, but the depth of the plot could have been explored a little more.
See it for yourself this Friday.
IMDB: N/A
Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
Movie Wiseguys: 6.5/10