For the
sake of not having to write the same intro a million
different ways throughout the rest of time, just know that
this column avoids the overly long and sometimes dull
process of full film reviews and instead opts to break
things down based on what I thought going in, what happened
while I was there and what I learned at the end of it all.
Thanks for reading!
The
Breakdown - Man On A Ledge
The Impression:
Sam Worthington has quickly become a sign to me that the
film at hand is going to be half-assed at best, awful at
worst. Man On A Ledge (the worst title in years)
seems like a pretty half-baked idea and the trailers give
away the big reveal. Also it’s January, where everything is
awful.
The Reality:
January tests me every year. There’s nothing exceptional
that ever breaks the seal in the inaugural month, thus every
film I’m seeing will either be bad enough to leave scars or
just mediocre enough to leave me angry at the state of film.
Man On The Ledge is certainly the latter, the story
of a disgraced cop (Sam Worthington) out for revenge, who
takes to extreme measures to orchestrate a truly stupid
heist. I wasn’t angry after seeing it or offended, I was
just, well, nothing. Asger Leth just sort of slaps together
a movie that is sort of about a man on a ledge, and sort of
about a heist, and sort of about family dynamics and sort of
about, well, seriously who gives a shit? This isn’t a movie
I recommend in any way and even though it features a cast
that includes Anthony Mackie, Elisabeth Banks (awful in this
film by the way, stiff and poorly cast as a hard-nosed,
alcoholic detective on the mend), Ed Harris none of their
considerable talent can drag this film from the pond scum of
mediocrity. Just avoid it.
The Lesson:
January is a terrible month for films. I always try to think
it might be different and it never, ever is.
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