Critic reviews are beginning to hit the Internet for the final installment of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, but some fans seem to be taking the few negative reviews a little too personally.
If you’re anything like me, you’ve been waiting for The Dark Knight Rises ever since its predecessor’s credits began to roll. Well, the wait is finally over, and in just a few short days, Bat-fans and theater-goers alike will be sitting down to watch what is arguably the most anticipated film in recent memory. But more interesting than the release of The Dark Knight Rises are the days leading up to it, where fans of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy wait with bated breath as reviews of the film begin to flood the Internet.
Yesterday morning, the review embargo placed on The Dark Knight Rises was lifted, even though the majority of critics have yet to see the film. For those of you who may not know what a review embargo is, it is basically a ban on publishing a review for a film until a predetermined date set by the production company of said film.
In the days leading up to a big release, film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes becomes extremely popular, not to say it isn’t normally, but more so. Fans flood the website in order to check on the score, or “Tomatometer,” of their most anticipated movies. With a release as big as The Dark Knight Rises, controversy over reviews is to be expected, but so far, reactions to critics’ reviews of the film have ranged from outrageous to just plain idiotic.
If you follow Rotten Tomatoes on Twitter, you may have an idea of what I am talking about. At the very moment that I am writing this (late monday, early Tuesday), The Dark Knight Rises has a score of 91% with 35 reviews, 32 of which are “fresh,” meaning the critics’ reviews were mostly positive. This leaves three “rotten” reviews, meaning three critics had mostly negative things to say about the film. It is in the comment sections of these three reviews where fans of Nolan’s Batman trilogy began to rear their ugly heads.
Re Dark Knight Rises – Comments that violate our TOS (i.e. threats) will get you banned from the site.
— Rotten Tomatoes (@RottenTomatoes) July 16, 2012
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This was a Tweet from Rotten Tomatoes earlier today after the first negative review of The Dark Knight Rises had been posted. To be the first to give a film with this many devoted fans a negative review looks like it must be a scary experience, but no critic should be afraid to publish a truthful representation of their opinion. Besides, Rotten Tomatoes must be exaggerating when it mentions threats as an example of the violations of their terms of service, right?
@sayheykid89 People can complain about a bad review all they want.But threats aren’t acceptable forms of free speech.
— Rotten Tomatoes (@RottenTomatoes) July 16, 2012
Okay, so maybe it wasn’t exaggerating. Not only are people upset that three critics’ opinions are different from their own, but they are so upset to the point where they are willing to threaten the lives of people they don’t even know. This type of behavior is unacceptable and unbecoming of a Bat-fan, a group of which I count myself wholeheartedly (I’ve got the tattoo to prove it).
But it didn’t stop there. Rotten Tomatoes’ moderators have been working all day to make sure this hate stays out of their comment section, but it still wasn’t enough. The first rotten review of The Dark Knight Rises garnered nearly 1000 comments in only one day, the majority being negative and hateful. Many things are being said, spanning from tamer comments like:
“I can’t believe RT will let him post this irrelevant review. His opinions are unacceptable and unbelievable!!”
To the more outrageous comments like the aforementioned threats. Rotten Tomatoes has since removed these posts from their comment section, but to think that fans would actually post something as serious as a death threat is sickening. The threats began escalating to the point where Rotten Tomatoes finally disabled review comments, making it so no new posts could be made.
OK, everybody out of the pool.We’ve temporarily disabled comments on reviews for The Dark Knight Rises for a few days.
— Rotten Tomatoes (@RottenTomatoes) July 17, 2012
I am not saying that this critic’s review is particularly well written or informative, and it is quite possible that he had ulterior motives in writing such a controversial review, but when it comes down to it, who really cares?
Why get worked up over such a pointless thing as a negative film review?
Remember kids, minority opinions are OK. If a critic doesn’t like a movie you want to see, let’s not turn into an online lynch mob.
— Rotten Tomatoes (@RottenTomatoes) July 16, 2012
The fact of the matter is, The Dark Knight Rises is one of the most anticipated films of our generation, and I can guarantee that more than three critics will have negative things to say about it. I think I speak for everyone when I say that a few rotten reviews won’t keep me from a film I’ve waited four years to see. A film review is the opinion of one person and nothing more, and no one should allow themselves to get so worked up when it differs from their own.
My point being, relax. Everyone take a deep breath and calm down. Although I have not seen it, The Dark Knight Rises seems like one hell of a ride. And in a few weeks, who will really remember what the critics had to say about it? Allow the film to speak for itself, and if it’s as masterful as it looks, it will be the one to tell you.
I will leave you with one final Tweet from Rotten Tomatoes that I think truly sums up this column perfectly:
Why doesn’t anyone get this worked up over a Medea movie?
— Rotten Tomatoes (@RottenTomatoes) July 17, 2012
The Dark Knight Rises hits theaters on July 20.
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