Christopher Nolan Speaks Up On Passionate Dark Knight Rises Fans

As you probably noticed if you've spent much time on the Internet in the last few days, the excitement around The Dark Knight Rises has turned a little ugly in some corners, with Bat-fans taking to their computers to harass and even threaten reviewers who dares not give the movie 5 full stars and praise it outright. The same thing happened when The Dark Knight came out, but it all feels a little busier and uglier this time, and now even Christopher Nolan has stepped in to defend the right of Batman fans to be passionate-- well, sort of.

The headline at The AP says "Nolan defends fans angry over Knight reviews," but when you read his somewhat halfhearted response, it doesn't quite read that way. Here's the main part of the quote:

"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."

Nolan is obviously grateful for passionate Batman fans and doesn't want to alienate them-- after all, they've handed him an incredibly successful career, and he'll be relying on them to make The Dark Knight Rises another hit. But while Nolan may have been responding to a question specifically about the fans harassing critics-- we're not given the exact context-- he doesn't mention them in his response, and instead gives a fairly boilerplate answer about people responding to the character, which could also apply to the hordes of people who have already bought their tickets for midnight showings. There's absolutely nothing in that answer that suggests he's even aware how many people have been jerks in defense of his movie.

So, come on, let's not jump the gun and assume that Nolan-- a man so civilized he wears suits to set every day-- wants Batman fans to yell at every critic who doesn't love his movie. He wants you to love Batman and actually follow in his example of being a decent human being. Be less Bane, more Bruce Wayne.