The premise is centred around the titular jumper, an ex-cop and now wanted fugitive Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington), who resists the best attempts of negotiator Detective Mercer (Elizabeth Banks) to talk him down.
Despite the attempt to add some highly unsuccessful plot twists into the mix, Man on a Ledge`s threadbare premise hardly warrants its 103-minute run time. The film jumps straight into its premise, and then meanders around aimlessly with nothing to help its setup evolve. As a result, debut director Asger Leth pile on various contrivances to distract us from the fact that the only thrilling aspect of the film is the constructed vertigo. The characters all have backstories, but none that deviate from the cliches of the genre, such as `hardboiled detective`, generic cop and protagonist who`s been framed.
Squandering the goodwill that he garnered for himself in the 3D Sci-Fi extravaganza, Avatar, Sam Worthington puts in a choppy, badly accented performance, exacerbated by a generally confused script. Rather than building on the possibly suspicion between Sam`s character and a lackluster Elizabeth Banks as Detective Mercer, the film allows the tension between the two to quickly sag, making her character essentially irrelevant to the story.
When the big reveal finally comes in the late third quarter of the film, most audience members will probably be echoing the sentiments of the onlookers in the film, who egg the lead to jump and get it over with.
Summary: An unconvincing negotiation
Rating: 2/5 Raphael Lim