Safety Last

Man on a Ledge (2012) has a title that sort of says it all, like Snakes on a Plane. It stars Sam Worthington as a cop doing hard time in prison. He breaks out at his father's funeral, makes his way to a New York hotel, has a nice last meal and climbs out on the ledge. He will be there for most of the rest of the movie.

I won't be giving too much away to say that he is not out there to commit suicide, although he is making it look that way. There is a heist involved, being pulled off by Worthington's brother, played by Jamie Bell (Billy Elliott) and his sexpot girlfriend, Genesis Rodriguez. A police negotiator, Elizabeth Banks, shows up - she has been in disgrace since her last case jumped off the bridge while she was trying to talk him down.

Just having this guy up on the ledge did a pretty good job maintaining the tension. The middle third lets up a bit, and frankly, that was a relief for me. I wasn't exactly wrung out, but I sure didn't mind the breather. Brother Bell and girlfriend Rodriguez provided some comic relief - maybe a little too much for some tastes.

Anyway, the caper goes off without a hitch, or not too many. In fact, everything goes a little too well. We are not privy to the details of the plan, but a lot of it looks like improvisation that somehow works out just right.

Well, it's a rare caper film without plot holes.If you don't mind a few, you might like this.

Unless you are afraid of heights.