127 Hours

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127 Hours

R

2011

1h 33m

Biography

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

93%

Tomatometer

237 Reviews

85%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

While exploring a remote canyon in Utah, mountaineer and adventurer Aron Ralston becomes trapped when a boulder falls on his arm. Over the next five days, Ralston examines his life and considers his options, leading him to an agonizing choice: to amputate his arm so that he can extricate himself and try to make his way back to civilization or remain pinned to the canyon wall and likely die. Based on Ralston's book, "Between a Rock and a Hard Place."

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Critics Consensus

As gut-wrenching as it is inspirational, 127 Hours unites one of Danny Boyle's most beautifully exuberant directorial efforts with a terrific performance from James Franco.

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Deborah Ross

The Spectator

Aug 30, 2018

This may be a great film, and an ingenious film, but only if you've the stomach for it.

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Kaleem Aftab

Independent (UK)

May 15, 2018

Any film that relies on one actor to carry the movie demands a lot of its leading man but James Franco applies a youthful exuberance that makes him so watchable it's all viewers could do not to blink.

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Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

Sep 11, 2017

B

Franco... delivers a solid performance as the strapping climber who shows his vulnerability when he reflects back on his life--the mistakes he's made and the moments he may miss.

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Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

Sep 11, 2025

5/5

Both tremendously anxiety-inducing and life-affirming over the course of its run time.

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Danilo Castro

Next Best Picture

May 27, 2024

8/10

Survival films are generally difficult to watch, given their dire subject matters, and there times when hitting standard dramatic beats inhibits the film’s creative flow, but “127 Hours” is about as entertaining and exciting as the genre gets.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Aug 3, 2023

4/4

In the wrong hands, the story could have easily been toned down to movie-of-the-week quality banality. But the presentation is pure cinema, designed to create the illusion of motion and progress in otherwise stationary circumstances.

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Robert P

@Superbad Oct 20, 2026

127 Hours is a *4.5* star Movie!

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Rian M

@SoloUtilitaRian Oct 18, 2026

James Franco gives a career-best performance here, trapped under a giant boulder in the middle of nowhere. It is a tough watch in places, especially when it comes to that scene, but it is so masterfully shot that you simply cannot look away. A proper triumph of survival and slightly terrifying.

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Gareth V

@geewah Oct 14, 2026

Well made, intense and driven by a great central performance, but Boyle’s flashiness keeps it at a slight distance from the raw experience at its centre.

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Ashequl I

@Tofa13 Sep 26, 2026

127 Hours, a real-life survival movie. The story is about a mountaineer named Aron and how he got stuck in Bluejohn Canyon for five days. The movie shows the raw emotion, raw struggle, and horror of a man who was close to death. At first, you may feel like it’s a normal survival movie, but by the end, you’ll be left with an incredible story. A great screenplay and the presence of Franco just made it perfect. His acting was top-notch. A movie to be remembered for ages. Loved it.

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Frans B

@FransB Sep 15, 2026

Superb. The fact that it is based on true events, is astonishing. James Franco delivers convincingly in character. Directed to a tee by Danny Boyle. It will make you flinch and wanting to look away, very gory and disturbing at certain points, make sure you can stomach it. Great cinematography and visually stunning. Filled with emotion, desperation, hopelessness, anger, panic, intrigue and drama. Makes one think about what exactly you will be willing to do when in truly dire straits. Captivating, to say the least ...

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Ahmad Edris S

@draxzilla Sep 12, 2026

Super nasty and very brutal liked it but would probably not watch again.

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James Franco

Aron Ralston

Amber Tamblyn

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Synopsis

While exploring a remote canyon in Utah, mountaineer and adventurer Aron Ralston becomes trapped when a boulder falls on his arm. Over the next five days, Ralston examines his life and considers his options, leading him to an agonizing choice: to amputate his arm so that he can extricate himself and try to make his way back to civilization or remain pinned to the canyon wall and likely die. Based on Ralston's book, "Between a Rock and a Hard Place."

Director: Danny Boyle
Producer: Christian Colson, Danny Boyle, John Smithson
Screenwriter: Simon Beaufoy, Danny Boyle
Distributor: Fox Searchlight
Production Co: Darlow Smithson Productions, Cloud Eight
Rating: R (Disturbing Violent Content|Bloody Images|Language)
Genre: Biography, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 28, 2011, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 25, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $18.3M
Runtime: 1h 33m
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS

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