Review: 127 Hours

127 Hours is a simple, yet effective film that combines two great talents in James Franco and Danny Boyle.

127 Hours is based on the true story of Aron Ralston, a reckless engineer who lives for adventure. After traveling deep into the canyons of Utah, Aron falls and his right arm is crushed in by a boulder, leaving him stranded in a dark ravine, with no way out. The film follows Aron's story and struggle as he attempts to escape his inevitable death, and combines visions of his past, his family and friends, and his future as reasons to keep going on, when death just seems easier.

From its first frame, 127 Hours is an adventure that is both exhilarating and fritghtening as you know the gruesomeness and struggle that is about to ensue. Danny Boyle seems to a knack for creating highly entertaing films and he and Simon Beaufoy do a great job at stretching the story long enough to be effective, but not too long so that it overstays its welcome. Also, they perfectly shot the gruesome arm-cutting scene to the point where it made you cringe, but wasn't unbearable.

The real revelation however is Franco, who prefectly embodies the humor, soul, and fighiting spirit of Aron, and perfectly captures the pain that he is suffering. I kind of wish he wasn't hosting the Oscars, simply because although I am sure he will get nominated, his chances of winning have now shrunk tremendously.

Now, while both Boyle and France give it their all, and bring their best to the table, there were some parts about 127 Hours that simply did not work for me. I'm glad Boyle avoided cliche flashback scenes, but sometimes his zippy, three-cut screen, or even some of his "hallucinations" didn't work. In many cases, they were going for emotional effect, but there was never enough time with the ex-girlfriend, the sister, or the parents for me to get too emotionally attached. If the purpose of the movie was to pull at your heart-strings, then it was not up to par, as all it did was pull at my stomach muscles. Furthermore, while I realize that they needed to provide a setup, the movie was too short for the first half to drag as much as it did. Thank god the second half was much better.

Despite that, 127 Hours is a well-crafted thriller featuring some incredible technical ploys, good direction, and one incredible performance. While they could have created more emotional impact in terms of the story, and left out some of the jarring, roller-coaster effect, all parties involved should be proud that they were able to take such thin material and turn it into an entertaining ride.

Oscar Potential: While it definitely should not win Best Picture, and even though it wasn't my favorite movie of the year, I see no reason why it doesn't deserve a nod. Also Director, Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Original Score, Original Song, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Film Editing. Could win a few tech nods, as it really was more of a technical feat, than anything else.

Grade: B