One of my most memorable cinematic experiences was going to see Avengers: Endgame in theaters in 2019. My year-long wait following Avengers: Infinity War’s huge cliffhanger was finally coming to an end, and this film promised a spectacular finale to a decade-long franchise. However, among less enthusiastic Marvel fans and non-fans, the film attracted a lot of attention for its surprisingly long runtime, totaling 182 minutes. Nevertheless, fans all around the world who had patiently waited for their heroes to reunite in the final battle against Thanos were not dissuaded by the movie’s lengthy runtime. I, like many others, never predicted that this film would be the beginning of a new cinematic experience: long-ass movies.
I, like many others, never predicted that this film would be the beginning of a new cinematic experience: long-ass movies.
Movies exceeding 90 or even 120 minutes is not a new phenomenon by any means: it was common in the 1960s-90s, with iconic movies such as Titanic, Lawrence of Arabia, Gone with the Wind, and Hamlet each lasting between 180 and 240 minutes! Nonetheless, the dwindling running times in the late 90s and early 2000s made 90-minute movies the norm, discounting outliers like Avatar and The Lord of the Rings. Most iconic movies into the 2010s remained within the one- to two- hour range. However, the new decade has introduced more than just a global pandemic and bleached eyebrows. Oppenheimer, Batman, and Avatar: The Way of Water all show that the 2020s have also marked the reemergence of three-hour movies.
It is surprising that this new decade has brought about longer movies when much of the other media we have been consuming is getting shorter. Youtube, TikTok, Instagram, and other social media have contributed to a shortened attention span best catered to by 3- to 10-minute clips of entertainment. Even the pandemic has pushed cinema lovers toward streaming services, which offer the comfort of pausing or fast-forwarding long movies. Yet, somehow, directors and producers are increasingly making their films longer. Despite being the norm ten years ago, 90-minute movies are now a thing of the past, and three-hour movies are becoming exceedingly popular at the box office. In fact, two of the three highest grossing films of all time — Avengers: Endgame, and Avatar: The Way of Water — exceed three hours.
It increasingly appears that directors are pushing for longer movies just for the sake of it, hoping to win more awards or garner more attention.
When I first posed the question “Are movies getting too long?” to my friends, I got two polar opposed responses. Most of them agreed that movies were getting much too long, but my film-loving friend argued that three-hour movies are cinematic experiences that exist on a different level from their 90-minute competitors. Initially I thought this was a bit of an exaggeration, but after doing some research I found that she had a point. Many film discussion forums agree that long movies from the past like Titanic and Lawrence of Arabia had carefully crafted plots that made use of every minute. Their length went unnoticed due to their captivating effect on the audience. These films wouldn’t have been “epics” had they been shorter because their running time was necessary in delivering their story. But how well do modern day “epics”’ compare? While I concede that some movies require long runtimes to properly develop and present their tales, I think many new lengthy films do not. Endgame dedicated two hours to a detailed, but somewhat boring build up to its epic final battle. Dune: Part One was two and half hours of Timothée Chalamet brooding. And as some reviews of both Avatar: the Way of Water and Oppenheimer state, directors could have shortened their films without sacrificing the plot. Even Disney’s live action remakes, which tell the same stories as their beloved cartoon versions, somehow end up significantly longer. While Halle Bailey and Javier Bardem delivered a beautiful remake of one of my favourite Disney movies, 2023’s The Little Mermaid did not need to be 50 minutes longer than the original. It increasingly appears that directors are pushing for longer movies just for the sake of it, hoping to win more awards or garner more attention.
While Endgame was exhilarating to see the first time, its length makes it tedious to rewatch…
Many appreciate the three-hour movie because it allows the audience time to connect with the characters and immerse themselves in the story. To me, however, the idea of sitting in a chair for three hours or more could not sound more uncomfortable, especially as a student who sits at a desk for most of her day. And while longer movies can be fun to see once or twice, three-hour movies are a pain to watch, especially since their overwhelming duration makes them so difficult to fit into an already busy day. While Endgame was exhilarating to see the first time, its length makes it tedious to rewatch, and I often opt to watch the shorter Avengers movies instead.
In an age of short attention spans and weak bladders, people don’t have time to dedicate three hours of their day to watching a film. While exceptions can be made for carefully crafted films that use their long runtimes effectively, the majority of films these days are not interesting enough to justify their length, making them a nuisance rather than a cinematic experience.
