Chistopher Nolan responds to The Dark Knight Rises review controversy

The Dark Knight Rises director Christopher Nolan has responded to the online backlash that followed the publication of negative reviews for the final part of his Batman trilogy.

While the majority of reviews have been mostly positive, a few critics seemed to disagree with the masses and write a negative write-up. Boy, did the fans let them have it.

The fan backlash following the publication of the few negative reviews was so malicious and virulent that review aggregator site RottenTomatoes.com had to suspend the user comments on Monday.

Nolan addressed the issue at Wednesday's London premiere of The Dark Knight Rises.

"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," he said, as reported by Huffington Post.

The Dark Knight Rises, one of the most highly-anticipated films of the summer, if not the year, is set to hit screens worldwide on Friday, July 20. It currently has an 87% on Rotten Tomatoes' Tomatometer with an average rating of 8.1/10.