Flashy and a little one-dimensional

Rating: 5/10 (29 October 2010)

This film is fine. It's well made and well acted. You know the plot before you go in: man falls down hole; man's arm gets trapped; man hacks off his arm. That, unfortunately, is it. Boyle is great at developing tension, but despite the film's relatively short running time, it drags. The problem is there's nowhere for either character or narrative to go. Yes, it's amazing (and hideous to watch) that Aron Ralston chops off his own arm - and you marvel at his grim determination - but it doesn't make him an interesting or engaging character. The film is sustained by the flashy energy of the cinematography (and flights of poorly realised fantasy), to take us out of Ralston's stony prison, and it looks great. But I quickly reached a point where I wanted to shout "enough already!" Too many gimmicks, too much flash and not enough substance. This is a film for unsophisticated boys.