127 Hours Review

Rating: 5/5

Once, someone tried to argue to me the brilliance of Danny Boyle by talking about the fact that he apparently stands while filming and never sits. That is not a sign of a good director, it's the sign of someone with a lot of stamina. Anyway, my point is that I have mixed opinions about the films of Danny Boyle. His movies range from pretty stupid (28 Days Later), to great (Slumdog Millionaire). Thankfully this is in the latter category.

Aron Ralston (James Franco) is a mountaineering and canyon enthusiast. He periodically goes out on his own, and explores caves and crevices and the like. On one trip, he forgets to bring his swiss army knife, and to leave a note on where he's going. While climbing down a canyon wall, Ralston slips and dislodges a rock, which traps his arm. He then examines his life, and decides to live, no matter what it takes.

127 Hours does something that I haven't seen at all this year. It holds an entire story that's just one guy and a rock. And it does it extremely well. James Franco is superb as Aron, and the claustrophobic cinematography is both gorgeous and terrifying. Seriously, I was so glad it wasn't me in between the rock and the hard place when I was watching this thing.

What's really amazing about the story is just the incredible will to live we see in Ralston. This guy doesn't care if he has to slice all of his limbs off, as long as he can make it back to the people and places he loves. That said, let me address the amputation scene. No, I do not understand why it had people fainting and vomiting. I've seen way gorier (wiki Cannibal Holocaust and Frontier(s).), but this scene is still pretty disturbing. After you've been trhough so much with the guy, you really can feel his pain, and no matter what freaky horror movies are out there, watching a guy snap his tendon is pretty gnarly.

127 Hours is an awesome movie that tells an amazing story in an amazing way. My only complaint is that A.R. Rahman's music is out of place and doesn't fit the mood. The most effective scenes are when there is no music and it's just Franco alone. I say see it, see it, see it.