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Parents' Guide to

Man on a Ledge

By S. Jhoanna Robledo, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Taut heist thriller is better than lame title suggests.

Movie PG-13 2012 102 minutes
Man on a Ledge Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 15+

Based on 3 parent reviews

Pres
Pres Adult
March 7, 2020
age 17+

So so story

Boring and predictable story. Gratuitous scene where a women is shown in her underwear bouncing up and down and bending over with her butt facing the camera. They were trying to get better ratings I guess. It didnt work.
joshua martinez
joshua martinez Adult
May 29, 2012
age 14+

14 and up.

this thriller movie man on the ledge is a great thriller movie about a man who's willing to give up his own life for a crime that he did it commit and parents you need to know that this movie has some intense violence some strong language used and some drinking and smoking used.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Former NYPD cop Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington) manages to break out of prison, where he's doing 25 years for a jewel theft he claims he didn't commit. Intent on proving his innocence, Nick comes up with an elaborate scheme that requires him to spend most of the movie out on the ledge of a tall building, threatening to jump to his death, while an accomplice tries to pull off an elaborate heist. His plan just might work ... if he can convince police negotiator Lydia (Elizabeth Banks) -- who's tasked with trying to talk him down -- to believe his story.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3 ):
Kids say (14 ):

Don't be surprised if you walk out of this movie feeling fairly well entertained. With carefully paced scenes building up to a bracing (if not surprising) climax and decent performances, MAN ON A LEDGE is built to be a crowd pleaser. And it is, assuming said crowd is generous enough to ignore a few nagging complaints, from the sometimes clunky, often expository dialogue to the fairly cliched plot elements (corrupt insiders, would-be allies with murky pasts, etc.).

Add that to a few jarring tonal shifts (pseudo-flirty banter in the middle of a heist just doesn't fit) and some quirky casting, which wastes Ed Burns in a useless role (no offense to Banks, but Burns could've stepped into her place without hurting anything) and minimizes both Kyra Sedgwick and Ed Harris. Still, all of that said and taken with a pinch of salt (and a pardon for the over-obvious title), Man on a Ledge is a diverting-enough thriller.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Man on a Ledge's premise. How do you feel about the suicide set-up? How does the impact of the violence compare to what you've seen in other thrillers and action movies?

  • What do you think about the way people on the street react to seeing Nick standing on the ledge? Why do they encourage him to jump? What do you think about the way the media reported the incident?

  • Was Nick's plan the only way to prove his innocence? Does it make sense to commit a crime to clear someone of another crime?

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