f4f3 | The Dark Knight in IMAX

So what does IMAX add to the Dark Knight? Well, size, obviously, and noise lots and lots of noise. Since this is a movie that already has no lack of either, I suppose there was a risk that it would have become too big and too noisy, but it didn’t really work out that way.

I’d say that the immersive nature of IMAX exaggerates everything about the movie – good points and bad. For one thing, it makes a long movie seem even longer. Mostly, I’d guess, because the extra sense-data (almost typoed extra-sensory data) has to be processed, so it’s more tiring.

When I first saw the movie the music largely passed me by – last night it annoyed me in spots, especially the edgy guitar riff which constantly threatened to turn into a Johnny Marr lick but never quite managed to get beyond grating repetition.

The parts which seemed spectacular in regular format – Hong Kong, the subterranean car chase, the hospital explosion – were even more spectacular.

I don’t think the format affects the performances much – Ledger’s Joker was larger than life already, and in this format he looks even more unsettling, but it’s the same moment that defines his performance to me – the odd, skipping walk he adopts when walking away from the exploding Gotham General Hospital: almost capering, funny, but still unsettling.

To throw in my tuppence worth about the ratings controversy (it’s rated 12A, which means children under 12 are only admitted with an adult) I think the censors should just pack up and go home. If they’re capable of leaving the decision on whether children should see this or not up to their parents, then I can’t see anything they wouldn’t pass. There are a couple of bit of nastiness here – the Joker’s pencil trick, Batman dropping a hood just far enough to break his legs but not kill him – which are as nasty as anything I’ve seen. I’m less worried about the nightmare potential – yes, Harvey and the Joker are frightening, but then they’re meant to be – than in the overall tone and darkness of the movie.

I’m really glad I went.

Oh, and the Watchman trailer in IMAX was worth the price of admission alone. I recognised almost every frame of it from the comic, which to me is a good sign, and it looks as if they’ve got The Comedian and Doctor Manhattan spot on. The scenes they trailed weren’t all the obvious ones – although come to think of it Vietnam and Mars were mostly CGI, so presumably they could be made available earliest. I’m still unable to see how they’ll fit 12 densely packed issues into 120 minutes or so, but I’m looking forward to finding out.