The summary says it all. There is no arguing this mans determination,grit and human strength; I also have no doubt in my mind that thismakes an amazing tale and book. However, there really is only so longyou can spin out a guy falling down a hole and getting trapped and itisn't 90 minutes, not by a long shot. It becomes tedious, also you haveno sense of love for this character,he comes across as a reckless fool,perhaps they should of built up his character more in the first halfand then him have his accident?

So yeah, 1* for the amazing tale and the thing it could have been, -9*for the thing it isn't

-Emma

I'm giving this an 7 but will probably never watch it again; mainlybecause this is not a complex thriller or a well-written comedy. Just avery well-told story. Furthermore, I dislike the idea of someonecapitalizing off of one's own irresponsible actions (especially cuz itain't me). But, this movie met the challenge of turning this 20 minutenews-magazine segment into a mostly engaging feature film. Franco isawesome and, as I far as I know, the story isn't embellished for thebig screen.

So, if you want to see a story that actually answers one of those "Whatwould you do if you...." questions we've all considered, you won't bedisappointed.

I decided to add this to those reviewers who said this movie movedslowly at times; ummmmm.....this man was stuck, alone, in a canyon forfive days! Were you expecting some witty banter or maybe some carchases? Imagine, in today's culture, being without distractions for onehour let alone five days. In fact, it may have been justified for thedirector to have added 5 minutes of him just staring at some ant orcrevice.

Claustrophobic film is on the rise. Rodrigo Cortes's Iraq film Buried(2010) was released to surprising acclaim last year. A trailer forSanctum (2010), the forthcoming James Cameron-produced underwatercave-exploration adventure, precedes 127 Hours: Danny Boyle's firstfeature since Slumdog Millionaire (2008). The same motif of entrapmentstemming from lone attempts at glory fills much of Boyle's work. Theresults are shown in Shallow Grave (1994), Salim's demise in Slumdog,and Richard's attempts to outfox Sal in The Beach (2000). In some ways,the surreal realities of Trainspotting (1996) and 28 Days Later...(2002) turn this on its head, with the character needing to escape,towards a civilised community.

However, it isn't the setting so much that's the appeal with this themeof being trapped in small spaces, but more the character's coping withthe event. Aron Ralston (James Franco) is an adventurer. Fearless,enthusiastic and resourceful, it seems that he doesn't need anyone –it's this that becomes the premise for what's to come. How far doesbeing a loner, in spite of your own resourcefulness, really get you?It's difficult not to draw reference to the political climate. Aglimpse of Ralston's boss's t-shirt tells us "They can't lay us off ifthey can't find us". Boyle himself has maintained lifelong Laboursympathies, which can account for the focus on community (or the lackof it) that drives the film. In a life or death situation, Ralstoncomes to realise that resourcefulness and will might prevail, but thatindividualism landed him there. 'Checking in' now and then might haveavoided the whole fiasco.

This is typical Boyle fare from the outset, exhibiting an MTV-stylemontage of soda, beer, and fast-food. It works as a kind of visual"Choose life..." The gore (for which a fair amount of the audience arehere primarily to see) is near-meticulous in it's attempts to qualifythis as surgery: the camera constantly returning the severing of thenerve. These fast paced cuts of close-up, which include a number ofunnecessary microscopic scenes of water, perspiration, urine leavingtheir points of origin, recall to some extent moments of terror in 28Days Later. It's visceral soundtrack (scored by A.R. Rahman of Slumdog)and (akin to Cillian Murphy's desperate hero) Franco's intensitysupports this. Not short of new, more technically demanding ways tovisually show the vastness of middle-American desert, Boyle's neverbeen one for allowing his audience time to contemplate - this is whatdistinguishes Sean Penn's understandably compared, but superior, Intothe Wild (2007).

What Slumdog offered the viewer in terms of a rarely transmitted,transcultural showpiece, was marred slightly with cliché. High-octanethroughout, 127 Hours amalgamation of contemporary media phenomenons,while subtle in its assessment of the Western socio-politicallandscape, doesn't feel quite so important. Franco will quite rightlyearn praise to add to his growing repertoire for his portrayal of theall-American wanderer. Boyle on the other hand - following a churchfloor covered with the walking-dead, the brutal blinding of a slumchild, and now a severed limb left somewhere in the Utah desert –continues to struggle to reach the affect of Trainspotting.

this movie is a truly stunning experience, for any movie fan.

this movie is good on most levels of a good movie. this movie is basedon a true story. the acting is extremely well done with the emotions ofthe character being well done to the surroundings and mood, it alsotells what kind of state you would be in if you were in the samesituation. the hallucination's is movie are really good and pt in placewell and are always different and shows how this sort of mood wouldmake you lose your mind from dehydration and starvation, at the end ofthe film all of the people he shows all of the people he saw in thehallucinations on a sofa as he climbs out of a swimming pool a yearletter with a full recovery. it also leaves you with the thought ofwhether of you would go to extreme lengths to survive and get back toyour loved ones.

in one part of the movie he begins to act like several people andbegins to go crazy. when he cuts his arm off to escape, he is extremelyrelieved and happy, even though he is in extreme pain.

Aaron Ralston is as much as an inspiration to most as his seriousinjury never stopped him climbing or any of the other hobbies he does.this film really gets into your head and makes you think about how muchlife is worth living.

a perfect 10/10