The Batman (2022) (1 Viewer)

[Clinton McClure]

At 3 hours, I’m out.

 

[TravisR]

At 3 hours, I’m out.

I'm not even officially at that level yet but I'll have to hear this movie is INCREDIBLE to see it in a theater. The trailers make the movie look about as serious and as fun as a heart attack so I wasn't that interested to begin with but barring glowing reviews, that run time is another nail in the coffin for me.

 

[Sam Favate]

I just went from “maybe I’ll see it by myself on a day with free time” to “it comes to HBO MAX 45 days after opening.”

This will be the first Batman I haven’t seen in the theater since 1966, when I wasn’t born.

 

[Jake Lipson]

The Dark Knight Rises was 2 hours and 44 minutes, but it had a lot of things to tie up from the previous two films and had extra weight because it was the conclusion of the Nolan/Bale trilogy. That film had a long story to tell and it did not feel its length at all. For this one to be longer than that is a genuine surprise to me. I really hope that this actually needs to be this long.

Of course, we also know that movie theaters have substantially increased the amount of trailers and pre-show ads playing before a film starts in the ten years since Rises opened. So this is probably at least three and a half hours of total seat time, during which (I hope) most audience members will be masked. I know I will be masked the entire time.

I just hope it's worth it.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Of course, we also know that movie theaters have substantially increased the amount of trailers and pre-show ads playing before a film starts in the ten years since Rises opened.

That hasn’t been my experience. The theaters by me showed 20-25 minutes of trailers before movies a decade ago, and they do the same today. In my experience, pre-show ads play before the published start time, trailers play after it. It doesn’t matter if the pre-show ads get longer because that means they’re starting earlier, not running later.

I find the solution is simple if I don’t want to be in the chair that long. With reserved seating, my seat choice is held regardless. I know a 3pm ticket time means a 3:20pm start time. I plan to arrive at 3:20, not 3. Been doing that for years. I used to work a shift that ended at 10pm and I used to go to “10pm” movies all the time. I never had to leave work early and I never missed the start of the feature.

The Fandango ticketing site even says in the fine print “movies begin 15 minutes after published showtimes” for all of the theaters I visit.

I understand it’s frustrating but I think it’s easy to plan for.

 

[TravisR]

That hasn’t been my experience. The theaters by me showed 20-25 minutes of trailers before movies a decade ago, and they do the same today.

I think that might have been the NYC-style but about a decade ago, it was 15 to 18 minutes of trailers around me in the suburbs. Before the pandemic, it got to 20 minutes and now, it's 25 minutes.

But yeah, I just show up later since I already have a seat.

 

[Malcolm R]

You would think theaters would show less trailers/ads with the longer movies in order to possibly fit another showtime in the schedule.

 

[Clinton McClure]

I’ve tried to watch The Dark Knight Rises several times over the years and always fall asleep or turn it off about an hour in. I was really looking forward to The Batman but at 3 hours, it’s an instant decision to skip the cinema and try to stream it at home when I get a 3 hour block of time, which will probably be in a few years. Guess I’m already done with this one.

 

[TravisR]

You would think theaters would show less trailers/ads with the longer movies in order to possibly fit another showtime in the schedule.

I'd guess that every single thing you see before a movie has paid money and they've calculated that that money is worth more than not playing them.

 

[joshEH]

Shocked to read all the negativity in here, especially given that this is a Matt Reeves-joint, and he has yet to make a bad film, IMO. His batting average is phenomenal right now. Reeves' involvement as filmmaker here 100% guarantees my butt in a cinema-seat opening night, whatever the running time.

 

[TravisR]

Shocked to read all the negativity in here, especially given that this is a Matt Reeves-joint, and he has yet to make a bad film, IMO. His batting average is phenomenal right now. Reeves' involvement as filmmaker here 100% guarantees my butt in a cinema-seat opening night, whatever the running time.

Matt Reeves and his track record is what gives me some hope. That being said, I'm sure the negativity is more the exception than the norm.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I’ve tried to watch The Dark Knight Rises several times over the years and always fall asleep or turn it off about an hour in.

Maybe just start it an hour in then?

 

[Malcolm R]

Shocked to read all the negativity in here, especially given that this is a Matt Reeves-joint, and he has yet to make a bad film, IMO. His batting average is phenomenal right now. Reeves' involvement as filmmaker here 100% guarantees my butt in a cinema-seat opening night, whatever the running time.

Two Apes movies and Cloverfield?

 

[joshEH]

Two Apes movies and Cloverfield?

Also Let Me In, which is the rare remake that’s actually superior to the original (Let the Right One In). Four great movies in a row is a track-record pretty much every director aspires to.

 

[TonyD]

I didn’t care for his Apes movies.
Let Me In does nothing for me.

He isn’t a director that gets me in a seat.

I do love Clover field though.

 

[Clinton McClure]

I had no idea who Matt Reeves was until I looked him up. Yeah, he hasn’t made a movie I’ve liked. I’m still going to eventually see The Batman but between the director and the absurd runtime, I’m now in no hurry.

 

[Jake Lipson]

The trailers have not excited me very much, and the running time is long. But I trust Matt Reeves. I loved Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War For the Planet of the Apes. So it is because of his involvement that I am interested in seeing this.

It could be sluggish and overindulgent and benefit from cuts for better pacing. Or it could just be a really long movie that actually needs three hours to tell its story effectively. We won't know until it has been released, and even then we are likely to disagree among ourselves.

Right now, I'm willing to trust Matt Reeves on the strength of his previous work. Additionally, this is full of actors I have liked in other projects. I certainly think they have earned the benefit of the doubt here. If I don't like it, I'll say so when I see it. But I'm going in hoping that I will.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Runtime is 176 minutes.

Not nessescarily.

If you ask your iPhone how long The Batman is, Siri will tell you 2 hours and 13 minutes. Now, I'm not sure where Apple is getting that information. I'm also not sure if the information linked in your post is accurate either.

As far as I know, Warner Bros. has not yet officially confirmed the running time. I don't think they need to for a while yet. There will probably be a running time confirmed by the time tickets go on sale, which I assume will be sometime in February.

Either of these running times could be correct or either of them could be false. I think we just don't have information yet.

 

[dpippel]

Also Let Me In, which is the rare remake that’s actually superior to the original (Let the Right One In). Four great movies in a row is a track-record pretty much every director aspires to.

While I think that Reeves did a fantastic job on his Apes films, Let the Right One In was, for me, most definitely the better film of the two. The remake was OK, but it never achieved the emotional heights and downright creepiness of Alfredson's work.

That being said, I'm also gonna have a hard time justifying a 3 hour sit in a movie theater to see The Batman unless, as Travis said, the word of mouth on this thing is just incredible.

 

[Alex...]