Mindless funBy John DeSando, WCBE's "It's Movie Time," "Cinema Classics," and "On the Marquee"
Man on a Ledge proves that making a great heist film is a difficult task and not achieved in its case. While the plot twists are the work of a TV writer trying to be creative, many scenes don't make a whole lot of sense, and the film overall doesn't either.
Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington) goes out on the ledge of the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan to prove he's innocent of a robbery conviction. Lydia Mercer (Elizabeth Banks) is like no other police psychologist you have ever seen, a beauty that is, but she has a past, too, that could use some rehab. She attempts to talk Nick down, not knowing his full intentions. Banks knows the territory because she played a character wrongfully jailed in The Next Three Days.
With Ed Harris as David Englander, super rich baddie, the plot gets rich with overacting. Matter of fact, all the baddies are over the toppers. Regardless, the plot keeps moving, making the film watchable from a mindless fun point of view.
Because busting into a safe from the top floors has been done more than once in movies, not much credit can be given for originality. To the film's credit, Edward Burns as detective Jack Dougherty has a level of restrained bemusement to make the film amusing when he's on.
And Genesis Rodriguez as Angie, helping with the subplot heist is also an appealing diversion. I'm stretching here because this is really an unremarkable, low budget thriller that does show how difficult a heist can be, on film or in real life.
John DeSando co-hosts WCBE 90.5's It's Movie Time, Cinema Classics, and On the Marquee, which can be heard streaming at http://publicbroadcasting.net/wcbe/ppr/index.shtml and on demand at http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wcbe/arts.artsmain He is also a film critic for Fox 28. Contact him at JDeSando@Columbus.RR.com