Should Justice League be a 3 hour movie?

[Val_Zod]

I can't really answer that without seeing how the story plays out. Something like BvS definitely benefited from it, given the check list of things it had to address. We know in JL Batman and Wonder Woman recruit members of the league and have to stop Steppenwolf in some fashion, but nothing much in between. I lean on a shorter runtime, but I ain't against a 3hr film.

 

[wnjcwjkk]

They didn't even need to follow the Marvel approach. I would've been fine with a LOTR style approach for the entire DCEU. Three 3 hour movies in a trilogy. It could even follow a similar story structure, with Darkseid as our Sauron and of course, the League as our Fellowship

I'd like that, too. A straight epic fantasy approach. Ideally for me, BvS would have been vastly expanded into two movies, making a Man Of Steel trilogy that introduces us into the JL movies, with a more faithful adaptation of the Death Of Superman battle.



I'm used to binge watching on series, which have such an advantage over films in terms of the story, character, plot development. So, I want as absolutely much as possible from my DC movies, when I'm at home watching on the couch. But, in the theater, a 3 hour movie, I get a little antsy and less involved by the time the third act gets into full swing.


Hell, if I'm at my house, I wouldn't mind a 4.5 hour directors cut of Justice League haha. As long as I can pause it on the comfort of my couch, I don't care how long it is.


I suppose the most I can hope for is a movie near the length of Dark Knight or Rises in the theater, and then an expanded Director's Cut much like BvS with 25 or so extra minutes, but done in a way so that the editing of the theatrical cut doesn't feel choppy or feel like there's a lot missing.

 

[wnjcwjkk]

Some epic stories require a long run time, like the LOTR stories, and this movie requires several characters get enough focus, and get sought out and recruited, and learn to work together, and battle a force of evil, presumably Superman returns, so there's a lot going on, and I'd prefer them take their time instead of truncating it. It all depends on the story.


Btw, Seven Samurai (which is what Zack is supposedly drawing inspiration) is 3 hours 27 minutes. Magnificent Seven (the American Western remake) is a great deal shorter, at 2 hours 9 minutes, and they still had enough time to focus on the characters coming together and facing the bad guys

 

[Greenlite]

So story plots following

1. Bat/WW (first 1/3 of the film for detective stuff, becomes 3 character focuses after they joined the team)
2. Lois OR WW/Lois(researching Sup/motherbox, converges with the team to revive Sup after the Parademon battle, ends with their emotional re-union)
3. History Lesson, villains time and cameos/teases.

That's less than the 4 subplots of the 3 hour BvS UC (Bruce, Clarke, Lois, Lex), so they should be able to do it in 2hr30min, 2hr45min MAX.

 

[LucDisfilm19]

Yes. It should be 3 hours long. Here's my list of reasons why:

1) If WB decides to allow JL to be released in the runtime, it'll show that they'll start having their DC movie slate becoming filmmaker driven.

2) JL has to resolve and address a lot of plot threads including some Geof Johns said JL would address like why Batman became a killer, how people now see Superman as a beacon to the world after his apparent death in BvS (because some feel the scene where people gather at Superman's monument is not enough to answer that question), and why Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg decide to get involved.

3) It has a lot more characters to give an appropriate amount of screen time (like maybe some backstory) to 3 heroes (Flash, Cyborg and Aquaman and maybe a Green Lantern) since they'll need character arcs and motivations for their appearance in JL, plus they won't be introduced in their own standalone movies yet, along with the fact that characters of their part of the DCEU (Mera, Vulko, Henry Allen, Deathstroke and Comissioner Gordon) will be introduced in this movie, too.

4) There also needs to time to handle certain things too, like the return of Superman, the history and mythology of the Mother Boxes and giving Stephenwolf an appropriate amount of screentime to make sure he gets some sympathy from audiences and isn't seen as another generic Marvel movie villain (exceptions being Loki, Zemo and Vulture).

So, that's why I think JL should b 3 hours along.

Also, I know ur gonna tell me 3 hour movies don't do well at the box office. Well, if I may play a devil's advocate on that, Avatar, Dark Knoght Rises, Tianic, Hobbit 1 and Lord of the Rings 3 were billion dollar films yet they were over 3 hours long. If JL can be good as some those movies on an entertaining kind of level, the 3 hour runtime shouldn't be an issue.

 

[kguillou]

I want a 3 hour Justice League movie and hope we get an extended "ultimate" edition on blu ray...but for theater this should be no more than 2hrs 30 mins and I think that is more than enough to tell the story adequately.

 

[LucDisfilm19]

I want a 3 hour Justice League movie and hope we get an extended "ultimate" edition on blu ray...but for theater this should be no more than 2hrs 30 mins and I think that is more than enough to tell the story adequately.

Well, WB better decide what Cut they will release if there even is one, and release one final and only Cut of the movie, or else they'll be cheating fans again with BvS and make fans go "WB once agin putting better versions of movies in theaters and putting theatrical cuts that look like crap products". WB has to learn from their mistakes this time.

 

[LucDisfilm19]

I want a 3 hour Justice League movie and hope we get an extended "ultimate" edition on blu ray...but for theater this should be no more than 2hrs 30 mins and I think that is more than enough to tell the story adequately.

Also, if I may find an in between for how we can come to a middle ground, 2 hours and 45 minutes would be the best case scenario for how long they release JL in theaters. WB better not screw up JL like they did to BvS.

 

[AnneFan]

I'm up for it. But I'm expecting 2 hours 30 minutes or thereabouts. That's a good length.

 

[kguillou]

I agree.....so long as I get my 3 hour version on blu ray. t:

 

[gerrym51]

only if the choice is a mess ;mess like bvs at 2 hours 30 minutes or a coherent movie at 3 hours.

then the only choice they can make is 3 hours

 

[Chip Chipperson]

theatrical cut should be at least 3

Ultimate cut should be 6 and a half hours

 

[LucDisfilm19]

only if the choice is a mess ;mess like bvs at 2 hours 30 minutes or a coherent movie at 3 hours.

then the only choice they can make is 3 hours

I feel it should be the only choice.

 

[Mandon Knight]

I would like the longest time required to tell the story it has to tell. However my main hope is the film is released in the cinema in it's entirety, whatever length that is and not chopped to any suitable length simply to get more bums on seats and money in the till. WB / DC to have the balls to show a 3 hour + film, (if that's required) at the cinema.

If BvS had been the extended version at the cinema, there wouldn't have been so much negative backlash placed at it's door.

 

[LucDisfilm19]

I would like the longest time required to tell the story it has to tell. However my main hope is the film is released in the cinema in it's entirety, whatever length that is and not chopped to any suitable length simply to get more bums on seats and money in the till. WB / DC to have the balls to show a 3 hour + film, (if that's required) at the cinema.

If BvS had been the extended version at the cinema, there wouldn't have been so much negative backlash placed at it's door.

Agreed.

 

[Trevor]

Yes, every Superhero film directed by Zack Snyder should be 3 hours for my viewing-pleasure.

 

[LucDisfilm19]

Considering Warner Bros just announced Blade Runner 2049 to be 2 hours and 43 minutes (163 minutes long), I'd nit be surprised if WB ends up allowing JL to be released in the alleged 170 minute cut that was rumored back in March.

 

[matt47]

So story plots following

1. Bat/WW (first 1/3 of the film for detective stuff, becomes 3 character focuses after they joined the team)
2. Lois OR WW/Lois(researching Sup/motherbox, converges with the team to revive Sup after the Parademon battle, ends with their emotional re-union)
3. History Lesson, villains time and cameos/teases.

That's less than the 4 subplots of the 3 hour BvS UC (Bruce, Clarke, Lois, Lex), so they should be able to do it in 2hr30min, 2hr45min MAX.

Don't forget though, we didn't know anything about the Africa/Bullet subplot before seeing the film. So who knows if they have any secret subplots again.

 

[LucDisfilm19]

If WB has to compromise, I'll be fine with Justice League being as long as The Dark Knight Rises, which is 165 minutes (2 hours and 45 minutes long).

 

[FunkMiller]

Running time is immaterial. Quality is the only important thing. I'd rather watch a good 90 minute JL movie than a 180 poor one. Having said that, sustaining quality over three hours has only be achieved by very, very few movies, so a considerably shorter running time is probably a good idea.

 

[Tra-El]

JL should never end. The running time should be listed "E" for eternity.

 

[sf2]

3 hours?
from a business point of view, they should just break it into 2.

add in another 15mins... each movie will have 100mins long.

to me, the longer the better.

 

[_Superman_]

I say yes if the story calls for it like Superman v Batman: Dawn of Justice UC did. However if the story doesn't call for it then no.

 

[LucDisfilm19]

I say yes if the story calls for it like Superman v Batman: Dawn of Justice UC did. However if the story doesn't call for it then no.

Well, considering it has to answer and tie up some threads of BvS, introduce and give a decent of screen time to Flash, Cyborg, Aquaman and maybe Green Lantern as well a story introducing the characters and the corners of the DCEU they live in before expanding on them in their own standalone movies expanding the mythology of the Motherboxes, it will have to be long enough to factor all that into the story of the Justice League movie

 

[psylockolussus]

Since I'm not a huge Jl fan. I won't be happy with a 3 hour length. That's too much for 1 sitting especially if it turned out to be bad.