If you bought a ticket to 127 Hours, it’s because you know exactly what happens and how the film will end. Danny Boyle’s latest film is as close to a documentary you can get, an adaptation of Aron Ralston’s recollection in his book, of a hike gone wrong in the Utah canyon and how the adventurer escaped a certain death by sawing off his right arm with a blunt made-in-China multitool knife.

In other words, you’re watching “real life Saw”, you’re willing to tolerate staring at the same actor stuck in the pretty much same position for most of its 90 minutes of runtime, framed by a set of limited camera angles. You’re watching “real life Ice Age”, where the protagonist struggles comically at times to engineer his way out of his problem. Most of all, you want to see him saw off his arm in the end – inch by inch.

Happily, it turns out that in waiting between the prologue and the coda, you will be treated to fantasy sequences and flashbacks that spice up the main story. These sequences showcase Danny Boyle’s kinetic, MTV-ish cinematography and Simon Beaufoy’s intricate and thoughtful screenplay, while James Franco’s ability to act his guts out in the main story.

Despite its gruesome topic and slow buildup, 127 Hours is a tribute to the spirit of adventure, the endurance of the human spirit. While futile, Franco’s efforts to escape the trap are as much an exemplar of the creativity of the human mind.

While Danny Boyle isn’t the best director to prepare a film audience to feel the pain and gore at the end of 90 minutes (my money is still on Darren Aronofsky), he does succeed in turning what would have been a telemovie into a visually interesting feature film.