The Dark Knight Rises has had the kind of anticipation that’s probably akin to the coming of Christ. So should anyone happen to say something unfavourable about the film, they will end up having to endure the wrath from irate Christopher Nolan fans.

Nolan’s latest blockbuster did have a fresh rating of 100% on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, but then the first negative review came in from Marshall Fine of Hollywood and Fine. Here is a snippet of what his review says about the film:

“There is very little about “The Dark Knight Rises” that will make you tense, hold you in suspense or cause your adrenaline to squirt. At times, the action is so massive and thunderously clunky that I might as well have been watching one of the “Transformers” movies.
I’m not trashing the entirety of “The Dark Knight Rises” – I’m saying that its potential is such that it ultimately disappoints, thanks to Nolan’s decision to go big, bigger, biggest.
Part of the problem is the storytelling in the script by Nolan, his brother Jonathan and David Goyer. As in “The Dark Knight,” that urge to operate on a grand scale results only in a grandiosity that, ultimately, becomes a bit silly, even nonsensical.”

Now the Nolanites, many of whom had not yet seen The Dark Knight Rises, seem to believe that their God simply cannot make a flawed film, and so jumped in to defend the director and his film. However, some fans felt the need to attack the critic, posting disparaging comments, a few of which included death threats. Comments on Hollywood and Fine ranged from, “You should be ashamed of yourself…I hope you lose your job,” and “This is less a review and more a personal attack towards people you disagree with.” On Rotten Tomatoes threatening comments (some of which have now been removed) said that Fine should “die in a fire,” while another suggested that he should be beaten “with a thick rubber hose into a coma.”

This resulted in a response from Rotten Tomatoes’ editor in chief Matt Atchity publishing an open letter on the site, saying that, “Marshall has the right to not like the movie, and people have the right to express their disagreement with him (although if you haven’t seen the movie, your arguments may be on shaky ground). And we have the right to pull your comment down and ban you if we think you’re acting inappropriately.” Rotten Tomatoes have now currently disabled commenting on reviews for the film.

Hiding behind a computer screen and using a pseudonym probably makes it easy for many to type such comments. However, because of what has happened Atchity also wrote that they will probably, “move to a Facebook-based commenting system that doesn’t allow for anonymity.”

The film has since seen a few more negative reviews, with those from Christy Lemire of the Associated Press and Christopher Tookey of the Daily Mail also receiving numerous remarks on Rotten Tomatoes just before they put a stop to adding comments. Lemire’s in particular were said to receive threatening and misogynistic remarks which have since been removed.

Defending Lemire, AP’s managing editor Lou Ferrara said, “As a movie writer and critic, Christy gives her opinion and we expect people will agree with some of her reviews and disagree with others. It’s unfortunate when the conversation turns ugly.”

There was a similar reaction when Nolan’s previous film Inception was released. Anyone who was brave enough to give the film a negative review was left with comments lambasting them as “clueless,” “too dumb to understand it” and “not intelligent.”

Such is the life of a critic, where whatever you say now means that stepping outside the front door of your house to go buy some groceries becomes a fearful task, for you never when someone with a rubber hose will be chasing you.

At the London premiere for The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan defended the fans, saying, “I think the fans are very passionate about these characters the way a lot of people are very passionate. Batman’s been around for over 70 years and there’s a reason for that. He has a huge appeal, so I think you know people certainly respond to the character.”

As of writing The Dark Knight Rises currently has an 86% fresh rating on the Rotten Tomatoes site, with 133 positive reviews against 21 negative ones.

MCM Buzz writer Laura viewed the film, and you can read her review by clicking here.

Will you be watching The Dark Knight Rises this weekend? Or will you be hunting down critics that didn’t like the film?

Sources: WebProNews | Moviefone | Rotten Tomatoes

Originally published on MCM Buzz on 19 July 2012.