release date: January 27, 2011 

Welcome to twenty-twelve! My news years started off with a bang. And by “with a bang,” I mean a poke! Elizabeth Banks with NO BRA alert!

For my first review of the year I sat down for Man on a Ledge. Only the second film directed by Asger Leth, who previously brought us the documentary Ghosts of Cité Soleil. What a thrill ride this film turned out to be. Which was surprising because the opening really felt like a 90’s police thriller.

Man on a Ledge stars a bunch of Hollywood middlemen: Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell, Anthony Mackie, Génesis Rodríguez, Ed (I’m always kickass) Harris, Edward Burns, and Titus Welliver. While no one necessarily shines; they definitely each have their moments throughout this moving picture.

This flick follows Nick Cassidy (Worthington), an ex-cop as he breaks out of jail while at his father’s funeral. He then attempts to keep a city distracted by playing the role of a suicide jumper while trying to clear his name. Banks plays Lydia Anderson, a police negotiator with recent troubles.

What Worked For This Film:

– Elizabeth Banks. This gal is really starting to come into her own. She’s not the same chick that played Paul Rudd‘s gal-pal in Role Models.

– The plot. This film takes some somewhat predictable turns. But that’s alright when it’s done right. I’m looking at you 27 Dresses.

What Didn’t Work For This Film:

– Worthington’s accent. I don’t know what happened here, but american cop sometimes sounded like Chase from House.

– The entire subplot of Suzie Porales (Kyra Sedgwick). We didn’t need the scumbag cable-news journalist popping up every 15 minutes. You could have cut her out and saved 10 minutes of film and had a better product in the end.

The Lowdown:

This is a whopper of a flick. You’ll get some comedy in pretty stressful moments. This is some pretty great writing by Pablo Fenjves. Does it fix Worthington’s accent? Nope. Is this film worth showering and putting on some pants? Yeah, but only if it’s “cheapy” Tuesday, or a matinée showing. But then again I’d pay full price to get my eyes poked out by Elizabeth Banks.