They didn't have to turn Aron Ralston's story into a 94 min. movie

Rating: 3/10 (4 May 2011)

James Franco plays Aron Ralston, a man who enjoys mountain climbing. "127 Hours" follows Aron as he prepares for a great hike out in the Grand Canyon. He's confident in his abilities, with good reason, so he doesn't bother telling anyone where he's off to. Yet, even an experienced hiker, who has his head packed full of survival knowledge, can't prepare for everything.
I was excited to watch this, given all of the hype. But after watching it, I can say that whatever I was expecting in this movie, just wasn't there. The movie was tedious. The first 20 minutes were all right. I enjoyed Aron's bonding time with the 2 girls and I was quite shocked and surprised after seeing the boulder fall down and crush his arm. We then see Aron pushing the rock, grunting, crying, drinking water, filming, etc. That was literally all the happened throughout the entire middle portion of the film. It got repetitive and boring! Though I admit, it makes me wonder why I just didn't stop watching. Maybe I was curious to see how it all ended.
This film could have been better if the movie was shorter or if they spent some time building Aron's character. What we saw on film (from the flashbacks) was just a man who loved adventure and liked being by himself that he didn't bother telling anyone where he was heading off to. That's all I got from the flashbacks.
I admit, Aron's triumph was no easy feat. I'm sure I would have given up, if I was in that position. So, congratulations to Aron! But really, they didn't have to make it into a full-length movie. Tedious and repetitive, really.
Viewed on: May 5, 2011