Never travel without letting someone know.

Rating: 8/10 (28 January 2011)

Given the terrifying nature of Aron Ralston's ordeal, the movie was surprisingly low key. Perhaps this was due to the fact of Mr. Ralston's recklessness which led to his mishaps or maybe the sheer senselessness of what he was doing, which seemed to be pointless, self-indulgent, and never explained in the movie. After all, nobody told him to go hiking in the middle of nowhere. Yet that is what he did, and for that he almost lost his life, which is the crux of the story. How he saves himself is amazing. Yet the moment when he finally does free himself seems almost anticlimactic, when it should have been the climax of the movie. To self-amputate a part of one's body is an act of sheer desperation that is horrifying. Although one can root for Mr. Ralston to persevere and to be saved, what cannot be ignored is the sheer recklessness of his behavior that got in that predicament in the first place. Everyone can appreciate his dilemma but it's a dilemma that he brought upon himself, which gives one cause to wonder: Why? James Franco's performance is outstanding.