Commentary: What obligation do critics have to the fans of the films they review?

The Last Airbender is sitting at 5% on Rotten Tomatoes: will the fanbase revolt?

Let's say you're a really big fan of a franchise that's earned millions of dollars at the box office. You've got all the films on DVD, you've got the t-shirts, you've got the imaginary friend based on the best character from the movie you love the most. Now let's say you read a review of the newest film from your beloved franchise, and let's also say that the critic doesn't like the movie you loved so much. Do you A) realize that some people are just different, with different tastes, different viewpoints, and different opinions; B) send seven angry emails--from the same account, with different names, because that makes all the sense in the world-- to the author of the bad review; or C) ignore the critic and decide that it doesn't matter what anyone else says, because no one can take your favorite movie away from you? Read on for the answer to this question and commentary from Examiner.com's Comedy Examiner on the relationship between fans, critics, and popular franchises...

While reading over the early reviews for M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender this morning, I found myself wondering whether the fan base would revolt against the critics or the filmmaker. Just this week, Twilight: Eclipse debuted, and-- as per usual-- the Twilight haters came out of the woodwork to mock the series (Comedy Examiner included). And, because it's the way that these things go, the Twilight fans of the world-- the most vigilant and unamused of all the fanboys-- turned on critics and the franchise's detractors with a quickness. How dare they not like the new Twilight movie? It's, like, the best.

What's with the relationship between critics and fans? Here's what I don't understand about all this: not everyone agrees on everything, and that seems to be a point that-- ironically-- everybody would agree with. And yet, whenever a film like Twilight: Eclipse or a new Harry Potter comes along, the fans of the series seem to actively hunt down negative reviews for their beloved movies and lose their effing minds on the critics. A critic might write 100 reviews, and 99 of the reviews will pass by without much fanfare. But if the critic writes that 100th review about how badly the new Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants movie was, look out. If we all agree that no one agrees on everything, what's the deal?

It's a dual case of people developing "Internet Muscles" (thanks, Chris) and people being protective of the things they love. Let's say we're in a bar, and you walk up to my friend and break a beer bottle over his head. In this case, I'm going to step in and explain why this was a bad move: I'm going to protect my friend. But movies aren't real, and the characters in them aren't real, either. What are fanatics defending, if it's not their insecurities about whether or not the things they love really are that great? It's really the only thing that makes sense.

I gotta wonder: will we be seeing the same sort of critical backlash we've seen with Twilight when the Last Airbender fans of the world get a look at these reviews? Rotten Tomatoes has the film at a lowly 5%, and I've read more than one review written by someone who feels that M. Night Shyamalan's career has just reached its endgame. The reviews aren't just bad, they're atrocious: people are laying into Shyamalan's entire career, mocking virtually every decision that he's made for The Last Airbender, calling for his head on a silver platter. Really, you gotta see some of these reviews; they're insane.

But they're also perfectly valid. I'm no fan of Nickelodeon's Last Airbender cartoon series, but I'm definitely a fan of M. Night Shyamalan. Say what you will about the guy, but I've always found-- The Happening excluded-- that he's made some of the most thought-provoking, entertaining films of the past decade. Sure, they can be stilted in their dialogue and obvious in their twist-endings, and you can feel cheated by them once you realize that the wool's been pulled over your eyes for two hours, but I can't help but enjoy the majority of this guy's output. So, am I going to track down every bad review of The Last Airbender and, say, send seven angry emails from the same email account explaining-- using the worst spelling possible-- why the author should be killed? Or am I just going to shrug and say, "Well, guess I'll have to see it for myself"?

This is why fanboys have a bad name, I suppose. They're generally looked upon as mindless idiots, following their franchises to Hell and back even when it's painfully obvious to everyone around them that they're getting worked up about...a collection of images on a screen. Some silly stories meant to pass the time. A saga about a little kid who "bends" air, or a teenage girl caught between a vampire and a werewolf. Until fanboys are able to accept that not everyone likes what they like-- and that's all fanboys, of every franchise-- they'll never be taken seriously. Even the name "fanboy" (or, in most of the cases with Twilight, "fangirl") seems a little condescending, doesn't it? Suspiciously close to "rent-boy", if you ask me.

I don't expect a single fanboy to read this and come to a shocking realization. I don't expect anyone who'd look at Ebert's review of The Last Airbender (which is a hoot, by the way) and fire off a bitter email in response to listen to what I'm saying. So, what's the point? Well, I guess this is just an attempt to make sense of the madness, to find an explanation for the increasingly bizarre behavior that seems to be insinuating itself into the relationship between critics and fans. Do critics have any obligation to fans? Hell, no. And if fanboys are too dense to understand that, well...I suppose that explains why they'd like something like Twilight in the first place, huh? Sorry, folks, couldn't resist.

While you're here, make sure you vote in our current Comedy Examiner's Office poll: "Who should replace Steve Carell on The Office now that he's leaving?" Right now, Ricky Gervais is leading, but with your help, Tony Soprano might come in first. Yeah, it's that kinda poll. Stay tuned for more as it becomes available. In the meantime, we've got all manner of funny videos, news, reviews, interviews, recaps, funny pictures, and more to keep you entertained all summer long, so hit the "Subscribe" button up top to get all of it delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge, the moment it's published. Why, if that wasn't enough, we've also got some other recent Comedy Examiner articles for you to look over while you're here:

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