127 HOURS

127 HOURS is neither as good as I had hoped nor as gross as I had heard.

SPOILERS!!!

I'm assuming anyone reading this knows what the movie is about and how it ends.

Reputedly there were many screenings, including industry screenings, where people passed out. I have no idea why. The dismemberment scene is not anywhere near as graphic as I had expected. Any of the SAW movies are far more graphic. And as a major copout, there is a rock and roll song playing through the whole thing, which pretty much sucks any effectiveness out of the scene.

But there are other problems with the film as well. I really feel like I learned nothing about the character during the film. Who was he? Where was he from? What did he do for a living? Was he divorced? Kids? I have no idea. The flashbacks/fantasies were vague and confusing. To be frank, the main character comes off like a bit of a douchebag until he gets trapped. And then I only feel sorry for him because he's trapped.

When a movie is weak, I tend to get distracted by the technical. The makeup was terrible. And inconsistent. I never felt like he was near death. I never felt that he needed to amputate his arm because it looked fine. His girlfriend in the flashback was supposed to look like she had been crying but she looked like she had two black eyes.

There were good things; the cinematography was excellent. and much of the sound design was very good. Franco did not impress me with as much range as I would expected from such a dynamic role, though.

When I heard that Danny Boyle was doing the film, I was very excited that his version might actually be worth watching. But now I wonder if another director might have brought more meaning to the film.