"HOLY giant cinema screen, Batman," as Robin in the original 1960s American TV series might have said.

The Dark Knight may have had a glitzy London premier on Monday, but it also had northern exposure the same night when the National Media Museum in Bradford showed the Hollywood blockbuster on its giant IMAX screen.

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And bigger certainly was better, although the costumed 'Batman' who abseiled down the museum's glass balconies before the curtain went up was more high camp than high drama.

The Dark Knight is a direct follow-on from director Christopher Nolan's film Batman Begins.

Christian Bale takes up the lead role of Batman/billionaire businessman Bruce Wayne with Michael Caine again playing his trusty right hand man and butler Alfred.

But it is Heath Ledger as arch criminal The Joker who steals the show with his manic and menacing performance well worth a best supporting actor Oscar nomination, whatever the hype surrounding his untimely death.

The film opens with a spectacular bank robbery in Gotham City (shot in a brooding Chicago) where we first meet the psychotic Joker.

And despite its 12A certificate, the film's level of violence is set remarkably high from the outset with a number of close-up executions at gunpoint magnified, I admit, by the size of the screen I was watching it on.

The action moves swiftly on with the central plot revolving around The Joker pitching himself to Gotham City's put upon crimelords, led by Italian mobster Salvatori Maroni (Julia Roberts' brother Eric), as the answer to their collective headache over Batman's crackdown on their evil activities.

Their problems are trebled by the crusading crimebusting of District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) and doughty detective work by Police Lieutenant James Gordon (Gary Oldman).

But the anarchic Joker turns everybody's world upside down with his unpredictable, sometimes very amusing, antics.

Although his knife obsession does seem at times in poor taste in today's climate bearing in mind the film's demographic, which again brings into question the certificate it has been given.

Aside from its stellar cast, which includes Morgan Freeman and Maggie Gyllenhaal, the film also has six scenes shot in IMAX size which means they fill the entire 30ft high screen and make you feel like you are on Batman's wing.

Perhaps the only negative is that at almost two and a half hours long the film would have benefited from some harsher editing, not least because the story became a little convoluted towards the climax.

The Dark Knight opens nationwide on Thursday July 24, but for the full effect see it at Bradford's IMAX which is open Mon-Fri 2.15pm, 5.15pm, 8.15pm - Tickets £8/£6

Call the box office on 0870 7010200 or go to www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk

See the trailer here

Charles Heslett