127 Hours of excitement, adrenaline, regret, and awesome!

Rating: 10/10 (9 January 2011)

I LOVE this movie! OK, got that off my chest. Anyways, as I write this review, I'm listening to the song at the start of the movie, called "Never Hear Surf Music Again" by the Free Blood. Worth a listen, search it on you-tube. But anyway this was from beside the point of how much I love and recommend this movie to everyone living on planet Earth right now.
I saw the movie with high expectations and was disappointed that it wasn't over 2 hours long, but the movie made up for that because the pacing was good and it felt right. The intro to the movie is going to be on my top ten movie intros of all time, reaching in at number 1. For now. The song worked so well and naturally every song and score in this movie worked perfectly, even if it felt out of place at times, which also felt in place! At the same time! Like I said, I am listening to the intro song as I write this. It's so addicting! 127 Hours is the story of Aron Ralston's life-changing experience in 2003 which was news nationwide. He even won person of the year awards. But the story goes that he goes on this canyoning trip somewhere in Utah and while there, he meets two girls that he spends some time showing them around the place because they're lost. After they mingle and leave, he's invited to a party setup by them and he accepts. So he continues to trek for the rest of the day around Utah's beautiful rocky caves.
Unfortunately, one open gap leading down into a cave decides his fate for the next few, long, painful days. Aron decides to go on further between the narrow cave gap, and the rock he tested by stomping on it to see if it will fall, falls on him and sends him down the cave, making his arm stuck in the process. After he realizes he's screwed beyond belief he tries to make the best of it, tries to keep himself calm and tries not to think of the worst.
Given that he's an engineer, he tries to salvage as much water as possible to survive for the next 127 hours. The only thing he regrets the most? Not leaving a note (which he does now in real life). At the start of the movie, you can hear a phone ringing, and when it goes to voice message, it's his mother saying hi. So, he regrets not picking up the phone because he could have told his mother where he was going, and that would have been his salvation ultimately.
After realizing that mistake, the fun begins. He has visions of his past in his youth with his family and events that he thinks lead him to his unfortunate fate. But he tries not to go on the Karma route explanation because he doesn't believe in fate, neither do I. He believes that life is what you make of it, and so do I.
So, he does what he can to survive in this entrapment he's in for the next few days. As days pass by, he keeps on hoping and dreaming that he'll free himself, but all his attempts fail. He even has hallucinations of the freedoms he once enjoyed before being in the position he was in. It's like the director actually wants you to believe that there's no hope. But there is. He has a solution which failed before, but not again. He wants to cut off his arm to break free from the trap he's in.
Let me tell you, not a pretty scene to watch, but he cuts off his whole arm and breaks free from the grip. He eventually gets an emergency airlift and he is re-united with his family and friends once again. There is a brief cameo from the real Aron Ralston just after the end of the movie. This movie is what happened to the real Aron Ralston back in 2003 and that's why he won so many awards, because of the many obstacles he overcame at impossible odds that not many would sacrifice to get freedom the way he did.
And I can't help but think how awesome would it be if Chris Mccandless still lived today; what he would say to Aron Ralston, or better yet, to put them in a room together interviewing each other, becoming great friends and take a canyon trip and record their journey. It would be like two titans coming together, a meeting of the minds. If you don't know who Chris is, then please read the book "Into the Wild" or watch the movie, or do both.
Anyways, I now depart and hopefully you've enjoyed my thorough review of 127 hours. If you have not watched it, I insist you do watch it. Day 1 blu-ray buy for me, that's for sure!