[Stormcrow]

Do what Bruno said. Furthermore, do not give your NPCs more armor or defenses than they need. The higher everyone's defenses, the more misses everyone makes. GMs often overestimate what kind of protection people are willing to walk around in.

Also, give the NPCs interests other than just killing the PCs. What about morale? What about achieving their goals and then leaving? What about NPCs with mental disadvantages making tactical errors, like someone with Bad Temper making an enraged and poorly timed All-Out Attack?

Are your battles taking place on infinite, empty planes? Throw in furniture, ledges, walls, mazes, slopes, hazards, and so on that the characters can/must deal with during the fight. Put in noncombatants that the PCs have to protect. Give the players something to do other than just to hack and slash.

Are all your fights with opponents equally matched to the PCs? Try throwing them against some foes that completely outclass them or some that the PCs can handle easily. See if the players catch on to the fact that they need to run away, or that they can move more quickly through this part of the adventure because the opposition isn't able to stop them.

Are you sure you really need to fight whenever you do? If combat is dragging, maybe just have less of it and focus on other endeavors in your adventures.

P.S.: I addressed this as if you're a GM, but I looked again at your post and you're coming at this as a player. In that case, talk to the GM and ask these very questions. If the combats he or she is setting up are simply uninteresting, there's not much you can do. If your GM puts in more interesting elements, or removes the uninteresting ones, there you go.