BY: HEATHER CEE

Christopher Nolan's Joker keeps his "see you in December" promise in a big way - IMAX-big, that is. The first six minutes of July's The Dark Knight provide a glimpse of Heath Ledger as Mr. J. Oh, and then there's that Will Smith movie, too.

In the interest of full disclosure, the only reason I hauled myself (and my bemused husband) to Phoenix for “I Am Legend” in IMAX was to see the first six minutes of Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Begins” sequel, “The Dark Knight."

Batman, Joker, Bale, Ledger, mayhem, things a-splodey – it was a no-brainer. I’ve set the bar for ultimate geekdom in my household with my giddy anticipation of this film, and the bootleg trailer that leaked all over the ‘net late last week did nothing to quell that. In fact, the trailer was about ten times more bad ass than I’d hoped or expected, crappy quality recording be damned. And while the trailer was attached to regular theater showings of “I Am Legend,” the prologue that Nolan engineered as a short film introduction to his take on the legendary Clown Prince of Crime was screened exclusively before IMAX showings of the Will Smith vehicle. (“The Dark Knight” will be the first Hollywood feature with scenes filmed specifically for IMAX; there’s a nice preview featurette about the process on their website.)

In hindsight, I wish I’d seen the prologue – a snappy, backstab-fueled bank heist – before the dark, chaos-driven trailer as the letdown was inevitable. The trailer (released in hi-res on Sunday night by Warner Bros.) features Heath Ledger as the Joker in full-on, skeezy, psychopath mode, while the prologue serves as a brightly-lit nod to the Joker’s infamous caper skills and general disregard for the lives of his own goons. It’s a fast and twisty six minutes as a group of clown-masked bank robbers proceed to off each other for bigger shares of the loot, all unaware that the mastermind behind it all – the Joker - is disguised among them. Throw in a mob-bought bank manager with a shotgun, played with indignant rage by character actor extraordinaire William Fichtner, and it doesn’t take long to suss who the last man standing will be.

My only major complaint about the prologue – other than the epic-level hype surrounding it, which the trailer is quickly squashing – is the ham-fisted, overly expository dialogue of the goons as they talk about the enigmatic figure who’s hired them. Lots of connect-the-dots one-liners, lots of bad acting – particularly by the “head” goon, who seems determined to grind that generic New Yawk thug schtick into the ground. But Heath Ledger, whose casting initially sent Bat-fans into a tailspin, is fantastic to watch throughout the scene – just keep an eye on “Grumpy,” and take note of the subtle gestures that hint to the goon’s true identity. From his “off” gait (not quite a limp, more of an uneven sway) to the nasal, mellifluous tone of his voice when he finally speaks, he manages to exude a bit of playfulness while hammering home that this Joker will hew close to the casually destructive villain beloved by comic fans. My personal favorite moment is his nonchalant, over-the-shoulder killshot at the last member of his gang, just before the injured manager waxes philosophic at him about how Gotham's criminals used to believe in honor and respect. “What do you believe in?!” he screams at the retreating figure, who stops and turns.

The "goon" places a grenade in the bank manager’s mouth and bends his face close to the injured man. “I believe,” he drawls, “that whatever doesn’t kill you simply makes you…” He removes his mask to reveal an ugly, scarred mouth, a face smeared with cracked make-up, and a sweaty mess of swamp-green hair – The Joker, looking quite nasty. “Stranger.”

Nolan’s decision to put the Joker in make-up (“like war paint,” as one of the goons explains) may be controversial, but if the prologue and trailer are any indication of what to expect from Ledger’s actual performance – I’m there. Several times. With bells on.

If you look hard enough, there’s a craptacular bootleg floating around of the footage. Obviously it pales in comparison to viewing the shebang on an IMAX screen, though Warner Bros. may want to talk Nolan into releasing the footage online, integrity of the medium aside. While the prologue is cool, I’m of the (unpopular, for sure) opinion that it’s not a scene that absolutely demands to be seen on a larger than life screen; better to release a clean version on their terms, or the crappy bootlegs will continue to pop up hard and quick.

And I must stress, again, how amazing the new trailer is. Joker shooting an RPG! Knives and lint! Semi-truck flip! Gordon smashing the Bat signal! ALFRED! (BatPod, meh – still undecided, though there’s no denying that iconic Batman-Joker showdown shot in front of Wayne Tower.) Hard to believe we’re looking at a seven-month wait for the final film, due for release in theaters on July 18, 2008. (Visit the official site.)

To whet your appetite in the meantime, catch up on some choice reading material – Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s “The Long Halloween” and "Dark Victory," Frank Miller’s “Batman: Year One,” Alan Moore and Brian Bolland’s “The Killing Joke,” Grant Morrison and Dave McKean’s “Arkham Asylum,” and Dennis O’Neil and Neal Adams’ “The Joker’s Five-Way Revenge.” (Batman-On-Film contributor Mark S. Reinhart has a great essay on the latter story that touches on its potential influence on “Dark Knight” scribe Jonah Nolan and director Christopher Nolan.)

On the plus side, “I Am Legend” was a pleasant surprise. I’ve never read Richard Matheson’s novel of the same name, so am unsure how closely director Francis Lawrence (“Constantine”) followed the material previously adapted to the big screen in “The Omega Man” and “The Last Man on Earth.” I do know that I would not have expected something this quiet and moody to rake in the blockbuster numbers that it managed this weekend. ($76.5 mil? Seriously?)