The Batman Director Responds to Runtime Criticism

The Batman director Matt Reeves responds to criticism of his movie’s long runtime. The upcoming film from the Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy filmmaker is the first to feature Robert Pattinson as the titular DC superhero, who exists outside the DCEU continuity in which Ben Affleck has held the role. After experiencing extensive pandemic-related production delays, The Batman is finally scheduled to hit theaters on Friday, March 4.

As anticipation built for the new superhero movie, much attention was paid to Reeves’ directorial vision, which was reported to be very different from most approaches to the genre so far. In The Batman‘s early reviews, which became available on Monday, critics largely confirmed this, hailing the filmmaker for telling a comic book story through the lens of 1970s paranoia thrillers. However, one aspect of the movie that was subject to criticism was its length, with some judging The Batman unable to fully sustain its almost three-hour runtime.

In a new interview with NYT, Reeves largely brushes off these concerns, citing the movie’s success with test audiences as indicative of its ability to keep most viewers engaged. Admitting it could look daunting on paper, he assures fans that they won’t even notice its length once the film has started, due to its immersive quality. Additionally, he notes that this version making it to theaters is shorter than some of his previous cuts. Check out Reeves’ full comment below:

Once you see the movie, I think that ceases to be an issue. It’s immersive, it takes you along and it keeps you engrossed. […] [B]y the way, it was once longer.

While three hours certainly qualifies as long, comic book movie audiences are unlikely to be deterred, as the genre has a history of sporting sizeable runtimes. Avengers: Endgame, for example, also clocked in at three hours, while many more end up running at about two-and-a-half. A four-hour cut of The Batman was reportedly tested, and even that might not have discouraged potential viewers – though it released on HBO Max, Zack Snyder’s Justice League was that same length, and fans received it with great enthusiasm.

As the old adage goes, no good movie is too long, and it’s likely that those who argue The Batman could’ve used more trimming are also those who found it less agreeable on the whole. Indeed, others have lamented that there wasn’t more of this film’s world to luxuriate in, and fans who leave their screening with that feeling will have to patiently wait for more installments. Reeves, Pattinson, and others have addressed the possibility of a The Batman trilogy, but it will likely be one of the two planned HBO Max spinoff shows that reaches audiences first.

Source: NYT

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