The Longer the Movie...

Two hours and forty minutes. Two hours and 28 minutes. Two hours and 23 minutes. These are the estimated run times for several of the latest Marvel Comics films: Infinity War, Captain America Civil War and the Avengers (Black Panther was only 2:15). Some sources are still fuzzy on the true runtimes. But based on the trend, the next MCU film will definitely be at least 2:45.

Is the age of the 3 hour film here to stay? Batman v Superman came in at a lengthy 3:03 but seemed to be an anomaly. Now, the prospect of movies regularly taking up a full 1/3 of daylight hours is a real possibility.

There was a time when I would start to get antsy around the 1:28 minute mark, but now my bladder is so well trained to long movies that it stays pleasantly swollen until the very last credit fades away.

The justification for such long movies is the sheer number of major Marvel characters packed in like sardines demanding equal screen time. It could also be a cost saving measure to release “group pictures” as opposed to “selfie” movies, featuring just one Marvel character at a time.

But even if films must be so long, why do we have to watch it all at once?

Movie “serials” were a staple from around 1911-1940’s and featured many comic book stories, like Dick Tracy, Westerns, and melodramas. But the era of sound and television ultimately drove this weekly movie story telling into decline.

Perhaps the time has come to revisit this concept. Several 21st century film companies have tried reviving the concept. That might not be such a bad idea. If MCU films insist on pushing the 3 hour mark, breaking the film into manageable chunks would be a welcome change. Even Broadway shows give you an intermission.

But with fans like me hanging in there as each movie minute crawls by, long movies - delivered in one sitting - may be the norm for the long haul.