Now that we have a better poster for 127 Hours, is it ok to say that I was never too fond of the first one? I appreciate the original teaser poster from a conceptual standpoint. But in execution it seemed too painterly, too animated — like a tight spot Wile E. Coyote might have gotten himself into. This new design is a vast improvement for me, because it brings us eye to eye with Ralston’s reality. The predicament is just as tightly constricted as the first view we got, but here we feel his intimate claustrophobia. With just enough stylized detail to hint at the home-made record he kept of his captivity. James Franco is the film, and his face often fills the screen, so it’s fitting that the poster goes for extreme close-up, as Xtreme as the unlucky stunt that got him there. (Full-sized after the cut).
