The three-hour superhero movie has become the norm, but does runtime actually serve the story or just the studio's need to justify a bigger budget? I walked out of the last Avengers sequel feeling numb, not because the action wasn't spectacular, but because the pacing dragged to fit in every cameo and set-up for future films. Compare that to a tight 90-minute thriller that leaves you breathless—you don't remember the length, you remember the impact. So why do we keep rewarding bloated epics with our time and money?