The world premiere of 127 Hours, the latest film by Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, Sunshine, 28 Days Later, Trainspotting) just ended at Telluride Film Festival. Here are the first reactions:
127 Hours was good, but didn’t love it. Boyle’s style really prevails, but didn’t feel the intensity as much as I did in Buried. Hmmm. Most of the movie is a split screen triptych, lots of trippy flashbacks. Franco is great, but it needs a proper score more than anything. I really wanted to love this, but just didn’t get fully into it as much as I was hoping. Not sure what it is, battling my own feelings.
127 hours is a visceral uplifting and moving cinematic film. Franco amazing. Franco is better than you could ever believe. Boyle had absolutely done it again.
127 hours was brilliant. Everything I wanted and more. Boyle has done it again.
Really liked “127 Hours”… quite the ride & James Franco manages to hold the whole thing up.
127 HOURS (B) Gutwrenching to the pt where I felt like I was having surgery. Boyle works hard to add some emotional heft + mostly succeeds.
Just saw “127 Hours” with jaw-dropping James Franco… Energy in the edits, the performance. Fucking. Oscars.
Greg Elwood’s full review at HitFix:
Boyle’s subject matter has widely varied, but his visual flair and emotional instincts have not. He’s assisted in this cause by James Franco, who simply gives the best performance of his career as Ralston. Having to captivate the dramatic ups and downs of Alston’s ordeal over five days is no easy task and Franco channels the outdoor lover’s energy and enthusiasm throughout.
There is a small list of filmmaker who have achieved creative success with back-to-back films over the years, but with “127 Hours” Danny Boyle has just joined the club.
John Horn’s review/response at 24 Frames LA Times:
“This is insane,” are the first words Ralston speaks as soon as he is trapped by the large falling rock. His situation was doubtlessly that, yet even crazier is that Boyle has made Ralston’s tale spellbinding—truly an action movie in which the hero doesn’t move.
As a harrowing survival film, the picture is first-rate, and Boyle, star James Franco and two ambitious cameramen make the most of a tight space and the suspense of a terrifying ordeal.
Peter Sciretta of /Film’s 9.5 out of 10 review:
127 Hours is a brilliant, gut-wrenching and moving cinematic experience. The film will have you in tears one moment, laughing the next, and will leave you on the edge of your seat, gripping the armrests and holding your breath. This is an uplifting story of perseverance with a stronger character arc than the best fictional films released this year. This is not just a story of man vs. nature or survival. Ralston has said that he “did not lose his hand” but instead “gained his life back.” Most importantly, this is THAT story.
Alex Billington of FirstShowing’s review:
I’m fighting with my own feelings. I love Danny Boyle and I admire everything he achieved in his newest film, 127 Hours, starring James Franco as the real-life mountaineer Aron Ralston, but I didn’t love the film. It’s great, but not amazing, in my honest and humble opinion, and I’m wrestling with why exactly I feel that way and why I didn’t get pulled into the film like I wanted to.
They even had to call the paramedics in, HitFixGregory tells us:
Confirmed a theatre patron passed out during premiere screening of 127 hours . Paramedics still I side theater.
I’ll update as more impressions/reviews come in, so check back. I’ll be seeing the film myself in a week at Toronto International Film Festival, where you can look for a full review. If you haven’t seen it yet, the trailer is available below.
127 Hours hits theaters November 5th.