Man on a Ledge (2012)

Simply A Masterpiece

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Man on a Ledge is truly a terrific film it starts as a suicide movie and turns into an action thriller which keeps you at the edge of your seat and you really want to see what is going to happen next. Also William Sadler and Sam Worthington look like father and son a little bit and Ed Harris gives a great performance as the bad guy also Elizabeth Banks is amazing. Some of the stunts were also real and Harris gave a big bravo to Sam for doing them. If you like good action movies that they have an actual plot and a good acting you will definitely find enjoying this movie. I give it a 10 out of 10 because watching Jake Sully jumping from a rooftop is always awesome!!!

I want to say that I liked this film because it was pretty entertaining, all things considered. But there were so many ridiculous implausibilities and sitcom-like moments that I cannot really praise it as a work of art. It's always nice when the good guy prevails and the evil guy is exposed, but in this story it only happens by the grace of God or reasonable facsimile. The only reason why the convict framed for the theft of a jewel still in the possession of its owner ends up prevailing is because the latter was stupid enough to remove the rock from the safe in which it was stowed and then proceeded to walk around New York City with it in his pocket. On top of that, the idea that a couple of complete novices (the convict's brother and his girlfriend) could actually pull off entry into a top-security vault (where they did not find the diamond anyway, of course) stretches credulity to its breaking point. And then there were the gratuitous and nonsensical depictions of the girlfriend as a bimbo in a Victoria's Secret thong and push-up bra as she squeezed into her Emma Peel style skin-tight suit. And then there's the blonde negotiator, Mercer, who is also supposed to be something of a tramp but ends up together with the ex-convict after she helps him to clear his name.Overall, the ratio of deus ex machina to plausible plot was way too high. None of this could or would ever have happened. The tone is that of a gritty crime drama—with a touch of slapstick thrown in for laughs. I think that gritty crime dramas work better when what they depict could in fact happen in the real world. This was more like fantasyland. If pigs could fly, sure, but the main character in this film would have been killed or thrown back in the slammer, barring that.

"Man On A Ledge" is one of those movies that uses up all its ammo in the first fifteen minutes. The opening is really quite good. We immediately get to the ledge, which saves on boring exposition and makes for a very atmospheric first couple of scenes. Why is the guy on the ledge there, why does he specifically want the one negotiator that keeps messing up? Do they have a history, did she drive him to the ledge? But then they just flick the switch and you get a by the numbers heist movie. The brother character adds very little, and his whole storyline would have worked better as an ending twist than as the plot's motor. There's just no surprise anymore after the first fifteen minutes, you know exactly what's going to happen and when. When we FINALLY get to the grand finale, things really get downright kooky. This "average everyday guy" suddenly goes Schwarzie on us and casually jumps from ledge to ledge, it could be so bad it's funny but the action set pieces are so stale that you just feel tired while watching them. The only thing that keeps you watching is Ed Harris' fantastic performance as the baddie, he's way underused but he steals every scene. Apart from that, this is as average as they come.

The "scathing" reviews of this movie are amusing. I don't know what they were expecting but I think this movie does what it says on the package. While it's no great Academy Award winning effort, it most certainly isn't "awful" or "garbage".Ledge is a nice, interesting thriller with a good plot and some great action sequences (and a silly name). The acting is fine. I always enjoy Sam Worthington's under-stated acting and his co-stars were okay, apart from Ed Harris who (as he often does) hammed it up too much and under- mined the suspense a little when he was on screen. The direction is OK but I can't help thinking that in a more experienced director's hands this would have been a lot more suspenseful & thrilling. Nevertheless it's still got enough suspense, interesting characters, thrills, occasional giggles etc to make it a worthwhile watch and an entertaining evening's viewing. Ledge doesn't pretend to be the next best Oscar-winning, deep & meaningful blockbuster. It's a solid basic suspense story with a few twists, lots of clichés (but they work in movies like this!), the inevitable forgivable plot-holes and a happy ending for most of the characters. (NB Incidentally, some of the "plot holes" I've seen people complaining about are not actually "plot holes" at all. They're just bits that are not explained or shown in the movie. For example, there may well have been an internal investigation into the events of the day. But that's not relevant to this story so of course they didn't go into it. No-one cares :))Ledge is not a movie to "make you think" or an exploration of any serious, burning issue in life. It's quite simply a fun flick with lots of pretty to look at, twists to intrigue you and action to entertain. If you watch movies to be entertained rather than to pick them apart then you'll have a great time with this one! :)