A blockbuster film has just made a smash into the theater. Since the debut of its cast list, The Batman has been highly anticipated, and with Robert Pattinson starring as Batman, anticipation only bubbled. However, the anticipation on my end simmered down after I saw the running time. Nearly three hours to watch an emo rich boy with parental issues who has never felt the touch of another human strut around in a costume punching the bad guys? In the name of what Batman claims to be “vengeance.” But after remaining loyal to my seat and popcorn and sitting through two hours and fifty-six minutes of this film, I too want vengeance. I declare vengeance against the makers of Hollywood who have plagued the common people with excruciatingly long movies. 

But before I respond to my bat signal, I do recognize it isn’t just The Batman that has infected us, moviegoers. “Spider-Man: No Way Home” runs for two hours and thirty minutes. Timothee Chalamet’s “Dune” takes viewers on a two-hour and thirty-five-minute answer to the question, how low can we speak with a booming soundtrack behind us? No Time to Die reaches two hours and forty-three minutes and with that run time there is time. 

Now, what the film industry is trying to do is break the mold of a time construct. They want to take the time to explore the inner depths of the characters, they want the prestige of long films to carry them to the awards, and they are taking advantage of the accessibility of new technology. But there is a way to make your movie have artistic value, award value, and remain not tortuous for your viewer. 

THE MOVIES THAT HAVE DONE IT 

Lady Bird and Real Women Have Curve

“Lady Bird” and “Real Women Have Curves” are both coming-of-age films directed by women.

 Both follow a teenage girl’s journey into becoming herself and discovering her place in the world. These films are very character-driven and do require fleshed-out writing. But, while being under one hour and forty minutes these movies still achieve that. How did they do it though? Well, the main complaint that comes from these movies is that “nothing” happens. But that is simply false. What’s happening in the growth and analysis of a character and their experiences. It’s a journey for the viewer. A journey through the ins and out of teenagehood and womanhood. Both directors paint experiences like a first boyfriend as they are. Awkward and uncharted territory. These films don’t focus on how drawn out they can make their scenes. Instead, they focus on how memories and life really work. They go as quick as the petals that fly away on a dandelion, that we wish could last forever but instead we must part with them.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Volume 0

Full of intense battle sequences and a colorful world, Jujutsu Kaisen is more than just flashy animation. It touches on a broad range of topics that have deep meaning. It explores the stages of grief, the complexity of love and letting go, and the question of what is right and wrong. With so many themes it would seem that the movie would have a long-run time but instead, it comes in at 1 hour and 45 minutes. It does have a leg up having a manga to go from and be able to get pacing ideas from however, the manga alone cannot help. The directors still had the daunting task of crafting a well-paced storyline for devoted fans and they succeeded. The movie is certified fresh on rotten tomatoes and made 143.2 million dollars at the box office.