Dark Knight Yet Again-- Bigger, Better, In IMAX

So last evening I took my cousin and his new bride to see my latest cinematic obsession, The Dark Knight.

It was the second time, ok the third,,,,,, maaaaaybe the 4th time I have seen the movie. Each time I go I see something different or read something that I want to go and check and out and this experience was different for another reason. I'd go see it again, I think it's just that good. Plus this time I noticed the mayor's eyeliner and the Illinois license plates that said Gotham.

This time was different,, I saw the movie at an IMAX theatre. The Dark Knight marks the first time a director used IMAX cameras to film parts of a traditional theatrical release. Other movies have been shown on IMAX screens but none have used the IMAX cameras for a couple reasons. you can see in the above featurette.

I do not remember having been in an IMAX theatre since I went to one on a field trip in high school. As I entered the theatre and saw the screen you have to be in awe of the screen itself. The IMAX theatre at Navy Pier boasts a 60ft tall by 80ft wide screen with 440 seats.

That's right, the screen in six stories tall!!!

Even more cool, when you leave the Theatre and start walking back towards Michigan Ave.,,,, you are essentially entering Gotham City. The Batman tour essentially began at that point.

"I think that's the building of the last scene."

"See Hotel 71 over there? That's Bruce Wayne's Penthouse."

I wrote in my review of the movie that the unspoken star of the movie was Chicago. The IMAX experience furthered that belief for me. The shots of the Chicago skyline and city with the IMAX cameras were breathtaking and added more depth and power to the movie.

The opening scene of the movie starts with an aerial shot and you get that feeling that you are flying over the city and get that feeling you are falling. The Joker's henchman then zipline over a street in Chicago and the whole thing felt and looked so different because of the IMAX resolution and size.

That opening scene by the way is too easily forgotten after the non stop action the rest of the movie, but may be one of the best of the whole movie and most clever as well (see picture below).

Now it's important to note only around 30-40 minutes of the movie were shot in IMAX, but even the non-IMAX shots are improved and magnified.

If your one of the 10 people out there who haven't seen this movie yet,,,, you gotta go, but if you can,, see it in IMAX. It's worth the few extra bucks and is how the movie should be seen.

For the record the 7:00pm and 10:00pm shows at Navy Pier,, SOLD OUT!