Is the Doctor Strange 2 Runtime Too Short?
The countdown to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has reached an exciting time, as cinema tickets went on sale yesterday! I’ve managed to secure tickets for opening night in the UK, and I hope everyone else has managed to book themselves in. To accompany the sale of tickets, Marvel Studios released four posters, a 60 second final trailer, and the film’s runtime has been revealed, clocking in at 2 hours and 6 minutes (including credits). The posters and trailer footage have added petrol to the fan excitement bonfire, whereas the runtime has added a question mark into the mix.
The runtime of a film is normally something fans like to know ahead of time just out of curiosity, but on this occasion it’s become an actual talking point. News outlets have been keen to point out this is the shortest Marvel film in three years, and fans online have expressed strong opinions as you might expect. From a glance on Twitter, it’s clear the runtime doesn’t quite match what fans were expecting. Given the broad range of whacky rumours surrounding this film, and the promise of trippy multiversial exploration, fans were expecting a runtime in the region of 3 hours. And if the film were to fulfil every rumour fans have circulated, it would need to clock in at a runtime of 3 days. In comparison, the actual runtime is rather short, especially when you consider the length of other comic book films, specifically those which were equally large in scale:
- Captain America: Civil War (2016) - 2 hours 27 minutes
- Avengers: Infinity War (2018) - 2 hours 29 minutes
- Avengers: Endgame (2019) - 3 hours 1 minute
- Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) - 2 hours 28 minutes
It would appear that usually when a bigger and bolder comic book film comes to the screen, creators are given more room to play with. Particularly when the film boasts an impressive ensemble of characters, who all need their fair share of the spotlight. Even other standard comic book films, which are smaller in scale, have previously been given a longer runtime:
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) - 2 hours 16 minutes
- Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) - 2 hours 13 minutes
- Black Panther (2018) - 2 hours 14 minutes
With fans (like myself) running the numbers, it all comes down to the big question posed in the title of this article: is this film too short, and should we be worried?
For once the situation is actually pretty simple. In fact, I can answer both parts of this question in one word: no. However, I can also answer this question with more words, so indulge me for a moment.
I can see why this shorter runtime could potentially be a cause for concern among fans. “Could” being the main word to keep in mind. Broadly speaking, it could mean one of two things.
1. The film is shorter but it’s still delivering on all of its promises. This could result in a bloated mess with too much content to explore, and not enough room to breathe.
Or
2. The film is shorter and is actually significantly smaller in scale than anyone is anticipating. The focus might simply be on characters we know are confirmed, and the inclusion of Tom Cruise as a Tony Stark variant and Daniel Radcliffe as Wolverine may have ultimately just been rumours.
Both of these outcomes are mildly concerning, however I’m keeping an open mind. I have faith in Sam Raimi, and despite his increasingly tight grip on creative expression, I have faith in Kevin Feige’s plan for the MCU’s ongoing narrative. Given the amount of build-up, and the amount of effort to make this film a momentous occasion for fans, we should feel secure in the knowledge this could very well stick the landing regardless of runtime. I know this is going to sound dirtier than intended so keep your mind out of the gutter, but bigger doesn’t always mean better. If we have good filmmakers and storytellers at the helm, they can make an enjoyable film of any length. It’s possible to make an entertaining and fulfilling comic book film and not outstay your welcome. In fact, we already had the perfect comic book film which explored the multiverse. It was a little film called Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), and it clocked in at 1 hour and 57 minutes. I know that was a totally different set of storytellers and a very different project, but it does show what can be achieved if creativity and passion are the driving force behind a project.
Another thought to bear in mind is this film was always going to be too short. Fan expectations have gone through the roof, to the point where any actor who has ever appeared in a Marvel film is expected to cameo. I actually wrote an article about this recently, toying with the fans who are becoming somewhat greedy (click here to give it a read), because if fans got the film they were asking for it would be a bloated mess. There would be no time to tell a cohesive story or develop the characters in any meaningful way, because the film would be a conveyor belt of cheap cameos. It’d be a four hour multi-coloured shambles, featuring every character and variant we’re expecting, and actors who have been pulled in at gunpoint. The phrase “all style and no substance” springs to mind when I envisage the version of this film greedier fans want to see, so I’m thankful this vision is looking less likely.
In my mind, the fact the film has clocked in at a shorter runtime than expected actually makes me excited. It fills me with hope that this might be a well-oiled machine which ticks every box. I know there’s a lot of ground to cover and lots of characters, including the suspected arrival of The Illuminati, but if the story is focused and well written then it could work just fine. Having a shorter runtime often means filmmakers have an easier time upholding structural and tonal consistency, and they avoid doing anything too excessive. There comes a certain point with films, and indeed event comic books, where stretching the length of the story becomes overindulgent. Writers run the risk of including events and characters for no other purpose than spectacle and fan service, which means it either does nothing for the story, or sometimes it can actually have a negative impact on the story. In this instance, I don’t feel like the shorter runtime means we’re going to miss out on anything or be served less than we deserve, it just means Sam Raimi will have made the most of the time he had. Granted, this is the director who gave us the questionable Spider-Man 3 (2007), but he also gave us the disciplined and masterful Spider-Man 2 (2004). He’s a comic book fan through and through, a talented filmmaker who has already proven his worth to fans, and he’s been handed one of Marvel’s biggest films to date. The studio and Kevin Feige have put faith in him, and there’s no reason why fans shouldn’t do the same.
So where does this leave us? For myself, and for the articles I write, it leaves me in a familiar place. Not to sound like a stuck record, but as I’ve pointed out previously there’s only one guaranteed way to find out if this film is good: we wait to watch it in cinemas. Seriously, we’re not too far away from the film’s release, so there’s no point in talking ourselves into a panic. The only way we’re going to know if this film works is if we actually watch it. Nobody is going to know if this film is hindered by a shorter runtime until the week of release, so why spend time worrying? For the time being, enjoy the trailers, enjoy engaging with fellow fans online (as long as you’re playing nicely with the other children), and then ultimately enjoy your experience of the film when it arrives. Whether the film is overstuffed or doesn’t deliver on any of our expectations, at the very least it will be an entertaining visual triumph, and fans know we’re witnessing one of Marvel’s biggest events to date.
‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ is released in UK cinemas on May 5th.
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