We’ve all seen films about someone trapped in a phone booth, on a train, in a panic room, or on a plane. I usually dread seeing this type of movie where characters are “stuck” in one location for the duration of the film. They tend to feel claustrophobic and one-dimensional. Man on a Ledge, however, transcends the “in a/on a” genre’s usual shortcomings and tells a story that extends well beyond the protagonist’s self-imposed spacial boundaries.
The Truth Train team caught an advance screening of Man On A Ledge earlier this week, which is director Asger Leth’s Hollywood debut. It is a film that won’t surprise or disappoint.
The story revolves around disgraced cop Nick Cassidy’s efforts to prove his innocence while hundreds of feet above an informal, rubbernecking jury of his peers. We don’t want to give too many plot details away, so you’ll have to trust us when we say that the film is much more interesting than the title suggests. Think “The Negotiator” meets “The Town”.
While Man On A Ledge is a good film with a straight forward premise, many twists are glaring from the start. That said, the screenwriters do save a few unexpected items for the end. In hindsight, many of the plot elements are ridiculously unbelievable, but we didn’t find ourselves distracted by a struggle to suspend disbelief during the actual viewing.
If you’re the type of person who likes to maximize their cinematic dollar by only going out to see films that make the most of a huge screen and an earth shaking sound system, you’ll probably want to rent this one. If not, it’s worth taking a date to see it when it’s released at the end of the month on January 27th.
Side note: While writing this review, we realized that a disproportionately large number of thrillers and dramas are focused on cops or ex-cops. Why does this seem to be the case? (No pun intended) Leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts!
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