Everything we have heard and seen from Avatar (mostly heard) suggests that it will be epic. It’s a big sci-fi film with a big story and whenever there is a big story to tell it usually comes hand in hand with a long running time (see Lord of the Rings). Admittedly that isn’t always the case as some big stories can get cut down to 90 minute thrill rides, however this is James Cameron. Titanic was 3 hours 25 minutes and even True Lies, a non-epic film, lasted 2 hours 25 minutes. Most knew from the start that Avatar wouldn’t be a quickie, and now we finally have some kind of confirmation on the running time.
According to FilmCrewShirts the running time will be 3 hours 9 minutes. While someone’s Twitter account isn’t the most reliable source of info, /Film caught up with Avatar producer John Landau who confirmed that it is “definitely over two and a half hours.”
Personally, I prefer longer films. It shows the film-makers actually care about the film and aren’t just trying to make some quick $$$. After all these years I can still remember sitting through each Lord of the Rings film and King Kong. Hopefully in 5 years time I’ll be looking back and adding Avatar to the list of films that almost resulted in public humiliation and a burst bladder.
