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Midweek Mouth-off: Running too long?

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midweek mouth off
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but 150 seems to have become the new 90. No, people aren’t suddenly living longer. I’m referring to the fact that the running time of several recent Hollywood blockbusters have all been hovering around the bladder-bursting 2.5 hour mark, and sometimes even beyond. With so many of these big budget flicks being adaptations of novels and comics, it’s sort of understandable as they have a lot of material to get through. But when you have movies like The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which feels bloated to the point of grotesquerie, you have to wonder if it would not have been wiser to just trim the fat instead of trying to cram so many plot points and explosions into one screenplay?

So what do you guys think? Are you okay with longer running times, as then you get more movie for your money? Or would you prefer your silver screen filled with lean, mean, brisk entertainment machines?

Last Updated: May 28, 2014

7 Comments

  1. Agreed. Many movies that don’t need it are bloated to justify the frigging 3D price attached. Some need it, because they are focusing on multiple characters, however many don’t.

    Reply

  2. RinceofFuturePast

    May 28, 2014 at 10:38

    PS. It’s worth nothing however, that movies of past were usually 2 1/2 hours and that they only started coming down in length in the 80’s when the popcorn, quick fix generation started to emerge.

    Reply

  3. Gerhard

    May 28, 2014 at 10:52

    I think 2 hours for a movie is not bad. Some movies even feel short when there is a good story driven by good acting.

    Reply

  4. Wayne Bossenger

    May 28, 2014 at 11:26

    It depends on the film obviously, but a longer film isn’t so bad generally. A film like the latest xmen (which was awesome) could perhaps have done with another 30mins or so but it was still really good. The counter example was the latest Spider-man film that could have been shortened or characters cut and the film might have been better (I did enjoy it anyway).

    If you are reminded of the length of the film while watching it, so sitting there realising its too long or too short, then it probably is.

    Reply

  5. Decembermaloy

    May 28, 2014 at 11:30

    If I drink my Cola, and I suddenly need to pee during the film, it’s too long. I call it the PeeTime theory.

    Reply

  6. GooseZA

    May 28, 2014 at 12:11

    As long as it’s justified I don’t mind. Turning a tiny little book like the Hobbit into 3 movies is ridiculous.

    Reply

  7. Alien Emperor Trevor

    May 28, 2014 at 12:20

    I’d rather a movie be too long than too short. I can handle a bit of boredom better than something that just skips from scene to scene.

    Reply

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