The Dark Knight Rises: critics need saving from death threats (VIDEO)
Actress Anne Hathaway arrives to honor director Christopher Nolan’s in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood on July 7, 2012. The director of “The Dark Knight Rises,” which opens in theaters on July 20, is the 211th person to have his hands cast in concrete.
"The Dark Knight Rises" reviewers apparently need Batman’s cape to fend off the flame wars from angry fans.
Those brave enough to give Christopher Nolan’s flick a lukewarm reception are feeling the wrath of the comic book character’s loyal supporters, two days ahead of Friday’s opening.
So much that film review site Rottentomatoes.com shuttered the comments section for the film today after some reviewers received death threats, The Los Angeles Times reported.
“Death threats, rape threats are not OK, and that’s what was happening,” Rotten Tomatoes editor Matt Atchity told the LA Times. “At one point, we had seven people dedicated to (moderating) comments.”
It all started when long-time critic Marshall Fine rebelled and gave "The Dark Knight Rises" a poor review.
He called it “grandiose, not grand.”
“Nolan gets so caught up in creating an epic adventure that he hammers the ‘epic’ and neglects a crucial component: the adventure,” Fine writes.
His wasn’t the only poor review, although the movie has still received 86 percent positive reaction overall from 113 critics who have offered opinions.
Fine’s opinion still didn’t sit well with some and commenters crashed his website, so Rotten Tomatoes removed its link.
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They also pulled his review in an attempt to cool heads.
“As expected, we saw a mountain of comments come in about his review, and we’re policing them to make sure they’re in line with our (terms of service),” Atchity wrote on his website. “Broadly speaking, threats and hate speech will get your commenting privileges revoked.”
"The Dark Knight Rises" is the third film of Nolan’s trilogy.
Starring Christian Bale, the first two films were smash hits with fanatics and the public.
Heath Ledger won a posthumous Oscar for his role as the Joker in 2008’s “The Dark Knight.”
The Associated Press reviewer Christy Lemire dared to dissent, too, which led to Rotten Tomatoes removing comments surrounding her review, also.
“'The Dark Knight Rises’ is plot-heavy, obsessed with process, laden with expository dialogue and flashbacks that bog down the momentum and – dare I say it? – just flat-out boring at times,” Lemire writes.
Her review on The Washington Times website generated 286 comments.
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