MOVIE REVIEW - 127 Hours

James Franco stars in the new 127 Hours, based of the incredible true story of Aron Ralston in 2003.

Ralston was rock climbing in Utah alone, when he became wedged in a narrow canyon with his arm trapped between two rocks. He was stranded there isolated for 5 days, before taking extraordinary measures to free himself. Today, he is married with a small child.

Franco stars as Ralston who was in those days a selfish, loner who had a passion for the outdoors. He takes off alone to the deep canyons of Utah, without letting anyone know he is going, where he is going, and with less than desirable equipment to be in such a wilderness. Due to really no fault of his own, a freak happening traps him alone, deep in a canyon with no real chance for escape. After exhausting all sensible options, he resorts to insensible ones in the quest for survival.

First, this is a very compelling story, and it is told about as well as it could be. Much of this movie is simply Franco alone wedged in the rocks trying to get out. There are tons of flashbacks, and self exploration for the character as well. This is a hard story to tell in a movie, simply because there may not be enough story to tell. He gets stuck. He tries to get out. He eventually does. Franco is very good here. His performance not unlike Tom Hanks in Castaway. But 127 is much shorter and to the point.

127 will leave some bored, and others compelled. This will be a feast or famine for many. This has been the subject of many TV magazine shows, and the story is interesting enough. But for some there will not be enough to sustain attention. Also, this is hard to watch at times as you might imagine what Ralston has do do to free himself.

127 is very loud and weird at times when is shouldn't be. A very strange musical soundtrack to boot. I'm guessing these might be the songs in Ralston's head at the time. Also, the beginning and end of this movie has annoying sequences that have virtually nothing to do with any part of the meat of this movie.

127 Hours. I enjoyed it overall, simply because it's a good story of the human spirit. But with that said, I was ready for it to be over. It's a tough squeeze to eek out 90 minutes of movie here.