Review of 127 Hours (2010) by Spangle — 11 Aug 2016

127 Hours is a truly inspirational tale of survival with a phenomenal performance from James Franco taking centerstage. Certainly a Danny Boyle film, he creates this environment of despair, regret, and claustrophobia, that keeps you on edge and damn near hesitant to see what comes next in this truly distressing film.

The film is well shot and incredibly well-written, as it is able to create interest from such a seemingly simple premise, while expertly balancing his being stuck and his past to create a well-rounded look at Aron Ralston.

The film is a good length too and really is as long as it needs to be, as it is well paced and utilizes its runtime to perfection. Unfortunately, the infamous sequence in which he cuts off his arm is just too much.

Traumatic to watch, the film seems to be under the belief that the audience needs to nearly pass out and watch every detail of him cutting off his arm in order to understand he is cutting off his arm.

Cheap and silly, this sequence really ruins what was a very good film. As it stands, it is still pretty good, but not nearly where it could have been. Overall, if 127 Hours could hold itself back and not be so disgustingly gory and graphic, it could have been better.

If you actually like watching a guy cut off his arm, boy do I have the movie for you. For others, skip over that part and stick around for this truly incredible tale of survival with a very human center.