Everyone needs to chill out over “The Dark Knight.” Yes, it is a great movie and yes, it transcends the comic book genre. Unfortunately, though, people have talked it to death. I find myself tired of it by now when I try to watch it on DVD and I know I am not the only one. Now, don’t get me wrong– I think “The Dark Knight” definitely deserves recognition. However, other movies are being left to the wayside because of it. “W.”, Oliver Stone’s take on George W. Bush, was equally provocative and just as worthy of a conversation starter. However, after roughly a month, it virtually disappeared off the face of the planet. When I try to tell people about it now, most of the time their reaction is, “What is ‘W.’?”

Another bone I have to pick with “The Dark Knight” is in regards to it being called “groundbreaking” by critics. I’m sorry, but it is not groundbreaking. Many other superhero films have tried to be gritty. Tim Burton for one deserves more credit. He was the filmmaker that tried to steer the “Batman” franchise in a darker, more serious direction in the first place with “Batman” and “Batman Returns” (both are greatly underappreciated). Director Ang Lee also tried to blend quirky comic book elements with heavy drama in “Hulk,” another criminally underrated film. However, maybe the problem lies in the fact that the quirky elements are still intact with those films. With the reaction to “The Dark Knight,” I’m starting to think that people do not really want genuine comic book movies anymore. If you really think about it, “The Dark Knight” is not a genuine comic book movie because it does not have the quirky elements of comics and it seems to stand against them completely. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. “The Dark Knight” is just more of a heavy crime drama than a “comic book movie.” It’s more like “Heat” than “Spider-Man 2.” Therefore, people should stop viewing it as “superior” to other comic book movies when it really belongs to another genre: crime drama. It’s story is about much more than Batman and what it means to be a superhero. Therefore, even though it is based on a comic book, it is unfair to compare it to other superhero films when it tries to completely defy the genre.

I love “The Dark Knight.” I really do and I am not just jumping on the bandwagon in saying that. However, enough is enough. It came out five months ago, people! It’s time to move on.