Thanks to the fine and wonderful people of Village Roadshow, I was able to pass myself off as a member of the MySpace Generation (here's the science bit: I wore skinny jeans) and attend yesterday's "OMG first in Australia" Black Carpet screening of The Dark Knight.

After having read Peter Travers more or less wett ing his pants over the film in Rolling Stone, and Time's Richard Corliss do much the same, not to mention the extensive viral marketing and ear-bleeding levels of pre-release buzz, it would be an understatement to say that expectations were at an all-time high.

As Jim Schembri noted this morning (though I would argue that "painfully slow" is just another moment of Schembri going "Look at me! Me! I disagree with the hype! Brokeback Mountain was "heterophobic"!!) in The Age, the film does take a little while to gain momentum, but once it does, The Dark Knight more or less grabs you by the jugular and doesn't quit (thanks in no small part, as I'm sure many will not note, to Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard's excellent score).

I would say "it's tough to pick a stand-out amongst the excellent ensemble cast", but I'd be lying: Heath Ledger does steal the show. His Joker is alternately hilarious and utterly terrifying, sometimes within the same moment; his performance is nothing short of revelatory - and thus, tinged with (more like painted with great swathes of) sadness. I doubt I was the only audience member fighting back a rogue tear when the nerds and emo kids spontaneously applauded Ledger's name when the final credits rolled.

Put it this way: if you only see one existentially dark megaplex superhero action tragedy epic this year, make it The Dark Knight.