Was it a 3-hour movie? I don't remember... I know when we saw it in the theater, I didn't notice how long it was running. That usually means the movie is keeping my attention.
While I enjoyed the movie, I don't think it deserved quite all of the praise it got. I think the quality of scriptwriting in Hollyweird has fallen so low that when a half-way decently written movie comes along, it seems extraordinary to the critics.