Man On A Ledge

First of all, happy new year to everyone of you! Here's to a movie filled 2013! Hopefully that means more time to write as well!

Not a lot of people paid attention when Man on a Ledge movie came out. To be honest all I knew about the movie was that Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks and Jamie Bell were in it. I never saw the trailer, never saw anything about it on the internet, didn't read the plot. I basically had almost no idea about the movie. I did however know that it didn't do that well in the box office and critics weren' too impressed by it. I'm not usually affected by these but a successful film definitely raises my curiosity. However, a few days ago, I came across the trailer of the movie on the net and was drawn to it by the storyline. I thought the movie would be all about the man on the ledge and that it would be the only setting of the movie. I was surprised to find out that this wasn't the case at all.

Let's do the introduction to the film, shall we? Man on a Ledge was a 2012 action, thriller movie starring Sam Worthington as the man on ledge, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell, Edward Burns, Anthony Mackie, Genesis Rodriguez, Titus Welliver and Ed Harris. It was directed by Asger Leth (I don't think I've seen any of Leth's other movies if there are, but I'd gladly check them out). It was written by Pablo Fenjves. It earned more than 46.2 million dollars on a 42 million dollar budget, enough to recover the costs. After watching the film however, it became a little puzzling why it didn't take off as much.

The main plot of the story revolved around a man who was desperate to prove his innocence from the allegations that he stole a 40 million dollar diamond. After escaping from prison, he checked in a hotel, apparently ready to commit suicide. Unknown to the public, this was a distraction to enable his brother and his girlfriend to prove his innocence by, surprisingly, stealing the diamond. I liked this twist in the story, I liked the idea behind it and I thought it was really clever. It was a little unexpected on my part who had a very different idea of the film. It was a very good surprise though because it enabled the film to incorporate action, thrill and heist elements to the story. It added spice and it added danger.

All these elements made the film exciting. It all started with the question of whether or not the man will jump. Then it became about will he prove his innocence. Will the people around him help him achieve his goal. It shifted and that's what I liked about it. I think the idea behind it was the best part of it, distracting the crowd by coming off as a man ready to die, while other people were getting ready for the dirty job of stealing a diamond that would eventually prove his innocence. It was amazing and very intriguing. The plot just kept getting better for me, and the ending literally made me hold my breath. The actual ending was a bit anti-climactic in a way that they managed to build up the hype and the ending was just too simple. But it was satisfying nonetheless.

Sam Worthington, who has become a huge start after hit movies like Avatar and Clash of the Titans, didn't fail to impress in this movie. He held his own ground, figuratively and literally. He portrayed innocence all throughout which was the perfect expression for a man in that situation. It was also really amazing to see Elizabeth Banks in a role like this. It was very different from what we normally see from her which really escalated her abilities as an actress. It was a great chance to diversify herself, and she definitely took the chance. Jamie Bell and Genesis Rodriguez had an undeniable chemistry. They were the fun couple who brought the laughs on an otherwise tension-filled scene. They were as charming as they can be, with a hint of toughness. A very good combination. Edward Burns also managed to stand out even though he only had a supporting role. He was firm, but also funny. He was tough, but also kind. He was really able to capture the necessary expressions and emotions required for each scene.

It really was a decent, even good movie. It's a shame it didn't have as much as a following as it should. Although from the looks of it, people are starting to watch it now, at least in my circle of friends. I hope more people will take notice of the movie, and spread the word. It's an amazing story to tell, made even better by quality performances by the actors and actresses involved in it. The crew of this movie showed how hard they worked for the movie by the extremely detailed portrayal of the plot.

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