Spoilers Marvel Cinematic Universe spoiler-heavy speculation thread

[Christopher]

12 Angry Men (et al) did alright with similar run times

Yeah, but Henry Fonda and Jack Klugman didn't have to spend half the movie fighting CGI bad guys. They also weren't continuing characters with pre-established arcs that need time to be served and advanced, not to mention re-established for viewers who didn't see the TV shows.

 

[The Knappos]

Yeah, but Henry Fonda and Jack Klugman didn't have to spend half the movie fighting CGI bad guys. They also weren't continuing characters with pre-established arcs that need time to be served and advanced, not to mention re-established for viewers who didn't see the TV shows.

All that can be done in 1hr 30m

 

[Rich Watson]

All that can be done in 1hr 30m

Five minutes of catch up still leaves 85 minutes of punching time. We're not talking "War & Peace" here.

 

[M'rk son of Mogh]

I like the idea of a shorter movie.

This trend to seemingly bloat all movies to 3 hours recently when they clearly don't need to be that long is something I'm not terribly fond of, so good on them for trimming the fat and giving us hopefully all that we need to make this a good, fun movie. Hopefully.

Granted, more time is sometimes needed and welcomed. But lately I've been watching movies and finishing them thinking that cutting scenes would have gone a long way to helping the movie.

 

[Christopher]

All that can be done in 1hr 30m

Can be, but that doesn't mean it will be, or that it will be done with the depth it deserves. It would require a more efficient approach to pacing and editing than most blockbuster movies have these days.

Five minutes of catch up still leaves 85 minutes of punching time. We're not talking "War & Peace" here.

That's exactly what concerns me -- "five minutes of catchup?" That's not remotely enough. I'm not talking about superficial exposition, I'm talking about doing justice to the characters. It concerns me that a movie with three female leads -- each of whom is worthy of her own solo movie/series -- is getting less runtime than most Marvel movies with only a single male lead. I hope that isn't the result of sexism, but given the current environment in Hollywood, with so many right-wing studio executives tearing down the progress toward greater inclusion in recent years, it's hard not to be afraid that sexism is a factor.

I like the idea of a shorter movie.

This trend to seemingly bloat all movies to 3 hours recently when they clearly don't need to be that long is something I'm not terribly fond of, so good on them for trimming the fat and giving us hopefully all that we need to make this a good, fun movie. Hopefully.

Again, sure, if that's the approach they're taking, that could work. But I'm not optimistic that they'll make such a wise choice. It may be instead that the edit will emphasize the action and comedy and we won't get enough character development.

Mainly it's just that I want to spend more time getting to know Kamala and Monica and, to a lesser extent, Carol. I don't want to rush through what might be our last chance to see them for a while.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

So apparently I'm supposed to be angry/confused/upset because a movie is going to be a normal length for a movie, but I'm just not feeling it to be honest.

Everything doesn't need to be three hours long.

True.

12 Angry Men (et al) did alright with similar run times.

Great example of a film with a wealth of story / character development in what some would consider a shorter running time. IOW, its not the time, but the strength of the content.

 

[Booji]

I'll actually watch the movie before making up my mind

 

[Christopher]

I'll actually watch the movie before making up my mind

That much is obvious. But keeping an open mind does not forbid one from speculating about possibilities and voicing concerns. One can quite obviously have concerns about the future without assuming they will come true.

 

[The Knappos]

Can be, but that doesn't mean it will be, or that it will be done with the depth it deserves. It would require a more efficient approach to pacing and editing than most blockbuster movies have these days.

To be honest, I can’t think of an arc for Carol or Monica that exists to further. I’m so far as there’s a preceding line which will run through this. Perhaps some abandonment issues on Monica’s part?

From all indications it’s going to be an entanglement themed romp. Initial annoyance/wonderment on all three parts, they don’t work well together, learn to work as a coordinated team in time for the top of act three.

Perfectly doable in 90-105 minutes.

 

[The Knappos]

I'll actually watch the movie before making up my mind

Wild man!

 

[Christopher]

To be honest, I can’t think of an arc for Carol or Monica that exists to further. I’m so far as there’s a preceding line which will run through this. Perhaps some abandonment issues on Monica’s part?

Sure, the main story there is between the two of them, so that can probably get the attention it deserves. My main concern, really, is that Kamala and her family will get short shrift. Ms. Marvel is one of my favorite Marvel characters, and her show did a good job (not a perfect job, but a good one) of translating the feel of her comics. I want more of that, and there probably won't be room in the movie for as much as I'd like.

From all indications it’s going to be an entanglement themed romp. Initial annoyance/wonderment on all three parts, they don’t work well together, learn to work as a coordinated team in time for the top of act three.

Perfectly doable in 90-105 minutes.

I'm not saying the plot isn't doable, I'm saying I'm concerned the character exploration might be more superficial than I'd prefer. I mean, at least when Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor had team-up movies, they were in conjunction with solo movies for the individual characters, so they all had plenty of room for character development, not to mention the development of their supporting casts. But we don't know if or when we'll get to see any of the Marvels again after this movie. So I don't want it to be over with too soon.

 

[Samurai8472]

Yeah, but Henry Fonda and Jack Klugman didn't have to spend half the movie fighting CGI bad guys. They also weren't continuing characters with pre-established arcs that need time to be served and advanced, not to mention re-established for viewers who didn't see the TV shows.

Now I want to see a movie where they bust out Captain Marvel level CGI effects and Captain America level strength

 

[JD]

There are plenty of movies who have managed to give us great stories with lots of action and character development in less than 2 hours, so I have no reason to doubt Marvel can pull it off.

That would make me think there's some potential that unions might be good for the workers...

I'm surprised you'd think it was anything but.

Unless you think relying on your employer to "Do the right thing" is an attractive option.

Yeah, you guys are probably right.

Why? I don't understand the connection.

All of the daytime shifts went to the people who had been their longer, and since I was one of the newest hires, that meant I got stuck with the closing shift. The rule came from the union, so the store's management had no say.

 

[Christopher]

There are plenty of movies who have managed to give us great stories with lots of action and character development in less than 2 hours, so I have no reason to doubt Marvel can pull it off.

Yeah, but it's not just about one story, it's about combining three characters and their respective backstories and supporting casts from Captain Marvel, WandaVision, and Ms. Marvel -- or at least Fury for Carol, Jimmy Woo for Monica, and Kamala's family. That's a lot to cover, and it seems like some characters and threads might not get a lot of attention.

Is it really that hard to comprehend that I just want to spend more time with these characters? Not everything is about plot. Sometimes you just want more time with characters you like.

 

[Anwar]

"The Marvels" will be the shortest MCU movie to date. Run time reportedly clocking in at 1 hour 33 minutes (without credits)

https://www.gamesradar.com/the-marvels-runtime-leak-shortest-mcu-movie/

They said Thor Ragnarok would be around that short and then it ended up 2 hours or so anyways

 

[eschaton]

If they started with a roughly 93-minute rough cut, I think a shorter run time is a great idea. But I worry a much longer movie was cut in post for whatever reason, which often leads to incoherent final films with plot holes, foreshadowing which never pays off, wild tonal shifts without linking scenes, ect.

 

[Christopher]

If they started with a roughly 93-minute rough cut, I think a shorter run time is a great idea. But I worry a much longer movie was cut in post for whatever reason, which often leads to incoherent final films with plot holes, foreshadowing which never pays off, wild tonal shifts without linking scenes, ect.

That seems like the sort of thing DC/Warner Bros. does more often than Marvel Studios. The Marvel films that happened to in the past were generally pre-MCU films like Daredevil.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

If this featurette is any indication (which it might not be), it feels like the film will do a good job of recapping each of their stories:

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Also...I love Goose riding along with Carol.

 

[Dee1891]

If that's the running time for "The Marvels", then I can only wonder if the MCU really cares about it. I didn't expect it to be two-and-a-half or three hours. But 90 to 98 minutes? That's too short for me. Especially for an action film with three major protagonists. Yeah, I don't think the MCU is concerned with this film.

 

[JD]

Or, ya know, maybe this is just a simpler story that doesn't need 2.5 to 3 hours to be told.

If they started with a roughly 93-minute rough cut, I think a shorter run time is a great idea. But I worry a much longer movie was cut in post for whatever reason, which often leads to incoherent final films with plot holes, foreshadowing which never pays off, wild tonal shifts without linking scenes, ect.

Marvel has proven pretty consistently that they have no problem with longer movies, so I doubt that was the case.