If there was a hotter ticket in New York last night than the debut in IMAX of the first minutes of “The Dark Knight,” I don’t know what it was. Certainly I was primed for massive enjoyment from the start and no, that had nothing to do with the wine and delectible treats up for grabs on the Upper West Side of Manhattan last evening.

In short, it looks like director Chris Nolan may have delivered once again. The six minute opener is a clean, crisp, and confident start to the next installment of the franchise. Think the bank heist in “Heat” with a little 70s “Dog Day Afternoon” thrown in. And though the moments we saw of the Joker in full on action were brief, any fears I had for Ledger’s interpretation were put to rest. With a few words and idiosyncratic moves (there’s a swagger to this madman), Ledger has created something all his own.

The final seconds of the extended preview include what amounts to a super short teaser trailer of moments from the film. If you’re lukewarm on the first six minutes I guarantee your heart will start pumping a bit quicker at the Dark Knight himself, the Joker rampaging through the streets, and Jim Gordon taking an axe to the bat signal.

Check out my full exhaustive summary of the “Dark Knight” footage here. Or you can wait until December 14th to see it before “I Am Legend.” Who are we kidding? Read about it now.

So does it sound like Nolan and Ledger are on the right track? What rubs you the right or wrong way about “The Dark Knight”?