Writers Note: Dear Batman/Christopher Nolan Fans, The following is only my opinion, please don’t kill me for it.

It’s been five years since The Dark Knight came out and superhero movies changed forever. Or at least, that’s what every 12-year-old kid who thinks that The Dark Knight was the best movie ever made would lead you to believe.

Yes, The Dark Knight was gritty, dark, well written, well shot, well acted, and well directed. Yes, The Dark Knight was the best Batman movie, and for some people, the best superhero movie ever made. But no, The Dark Knight was in no way the best film ever made. It did not make Christopher Nolan the best director and “visionary” in the history of movies, and it does not guarantee that The Dark Knight Rises will be a spectacular tour de force of cinema to be reckoned with.

It’s just a fucking movie.

Since reviews started being released for the sequel to The Dark Knight on Rotten Tomatoes, fans have taken to the site to voice their “objections” with reviews that have been anything less than perfect. Fans, despite not having seen the film yet since it doesn’t open until Friday, have been commenting on any negative reviews on the aggregate site and threatening the authors with death. Yes, if you don’t like The Dark Knight Rises, people who haven’t seen the movie yet are going to kill you.

This isn’t passion; it’s insanity.

A movie, even The Dark Knight Rises, is allowed to be bad. And even if it isn’t bad, people are allowed to say it’s bad. I’m the first one to admit that you shouldn’t trust a critic, as you can see here, but just because you shouldn’t trust a critic doesn’t mean you should kill one.

When The Dark Knight Rises comes out on Friday it’s going to make a lot of money and make a lot of fans happy. I haven’t seen the movie, so I can’t say whether it’s good or bad. Based on what I’ve seen, it looks like it will be an enjoyable film. But I’m not going to go into the theatre with my mind already made up. If it’s good, it will be good and I’ll enjoy it. If it’s not good, oh well, no big loss.

So although it’s an unpopular view and I might end up getting threatened for it, let me be clear that The Dark Knight Rises is just a movie. Like any movie, it’s entertainment. If you haven’t seen it, shut your mouth about it and don’t decide whether or not it’s any good until you do.

If you want to tell me why I’m stupid, feel free to comment below.