Are Blockbuster movies too long?

Depends on what you mean by “these days”? Jerry Bruckheimer movies have been stretching 80-minute scripts into 2-hour runtimes for decades. The infamously bloated “The Return of the King” won best picture more than a decade ago.

I don’t think it’s a bad thing for all movies, but maybe we could bring back intermissions? A DVD version of “Seven Samurai” had one, and it really helped me take in the final chapter without fatigue. Think of “Infinity War” with a 10-minute hiatus after Thanos gets the soul stone. “Jackie Brown” with a pee break before the heist.

 

This blockbuster movie... Shit... I'm still only in this blockbuster movie.

 

That is your loss. Given the things with which you lumped Star Wars and all comic book movies, I and very large group of people smarter than either of us would like to suggest that you stop being so worried about trying to impress others with your choices in entertainment long enough to see all the fantastic stuff you are missing.

That you even think all of those movies can be lumped together that easily shows you really don't know what you are talking about.

 

Most pieces of consumable "art"—whether they be books, magazine stories, movies—are too long. One of the nice things about TV running on streaming services instead of regular TV is losing the idea that an episode has to be a very particularly length. Some "hour-long" episodes of dramas deserve to be 68 minutes. Some should be 40. I think that's okay.

 

Streaming services are also going away from 10-12 episode seasons. I am seeing more 6-8 episodes, which is still a shit ton of TV on one thing.

 

AMC has been willing to ditch the 60-minute format for a while. They did it with episodes of Sons of Anarchy and they often do it with The Walking Dead.

 

Listen, ya last word freak, I could give two flying fucks what other people think of my entertainment interests. I get it, you’re down with this stuff; I’m not. It’s not my loss. My gains are simply elsewhere.

You watch the Walking Dead...still...years after it jumped the shark. Think of all the fantastic things you could be reading or watching if you’d walk away from that tripe.

I love that you tell me I don’t know what I’m talking about when I lump together widely popular things that, alas, don’t interest me. Yes,
please tell me more about why your tastes are superior to mine.

 

My tastes aren't guided by me trying to look smart by rejecting things because they are popular. Clearly, yours are. That is absolutely your loss. Think of all the fantastic things you could be reading or watching if you'd get your nose out of the air and see them.

You jumped in this conversation just to piss on comic book movies, to turn your nose up at them and the people who enjoy them. That is why you got the well-deserved reaction from me.

 

I don't care how long a movie as long as its compelling; nothing's worse IMHO than something that's dragging. Out of Africa? What the hell? Conversely, when I was watching "Hoop Dreams" and the lights came up? I was thinking WTF? That's it? It had been over 2 hrs and I thought it had only been an hour at most.

 

Touchy. Maybe you should read Joseph Campbell’s Hero with a Thousand Faces. It might save you from watching the same narrative arc in your comic book movies one thousand times.

 

I've read it. That you think every story that can be twisted to fit into it lacks value shows just how little you understand regarding good storytelling.

There is nothing touchy about it. You posted something asinine and I'm explaining all the ways in which you are making yourself look like a clueless ass.

By the way, your comment about being a last word freak loses all value when you continue to respond. Would you like to find any additional ways to make yourself look clueless in this discussion?

 

Last. Word. Freak.