sparkling stars

Movie: Man on a Ledge (2012)
Cast: Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks and Jamie Bell
Genre: Action | Thriller

Synopsis: An ex-cop and now wanted fugitive stands on the ledge of a high-rise building while a hard-living New York Police Department negotiator tries to talk him down. The longer they are on the ledge, the more she realizes that he might have an ulterior objective.
Source: Rotten Tomatoes

After seeing the trailer of the film I was instantly drawn into the plot and action, however I could not help but wonder if it was going to be one of those films that shows all the exciting parts in the preview and the rest of movies is a waste of $8. The movie brings you into the action and mystery right from the start, and you can’t tell who to trust. Well, for some movies jumping straight into the action might work, and although the movie flashes back to when the whole story began it would have been nice to have bit more of back story to the plot. The film tried to break the cop-and heist-movie cliche, however they had all the typical characters the framed cop, the beautiful negotiator drawn into believing his innocence, and the evil billionaire.

The plot was a bit far fetched but than again so was “The Fugitive”. The film went by quickly and didn’t drag on, which is always a good thing. It was nice to see that there were some lighthearted moments mixed into the action and suspense of the film and that the movies tone stayed the same throughout the picture. As for the actors, Sam Worthington did a great job leading the cast as Nick Cassidy and Jamie Bell who played Nick’s brother Joey Cassidy did a great job playing the role and adding the humor to the film. Elizabeth Banks played Lydia Mercer and was a strong female lead to Worthington character. However the biggest problem with the movie was that there was not enough character chemistry; Although Banks and Worthington played their roles wonderful separately together there was no attraction between them and they felt disconnected from one another. Banks character Lydia Mercer seemed to have more of a connection to Jack Dougherty played by actor Edward Burns.

The fact is the actors, separately, all did wonderfully and the plot was unlike any other, so if you overlook the missing spark between the actors and the fact that the movie was yet another cop- and heist-movie than you will probably enjoy the film.

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