I’m already a little tired on Hollywood’s rush to run out and imitate The Dark Knight, but there’s one thing Christopher Nolan did which hopefully every blockbuster movie will have the good sense to copy: filming in IMAX. It’s more than a gimmick, Nolan used switching between IMAX and normal film as part of telling his story. Others may not be as skillfull at doing it, but having part of your movie in the best available format for watching anything, that being IMAX, can never be a bad thing.

According to Variety one of the first movie’s to follow in The Dark Knight’s IMAX footsteps will be Transformers 2. Michael Bay is planning to shoot at least three of his big action set pieces using IMAX cameras. What better way to show off giant freakin robots than in giant freakin IMAX. It’s a natural fit. For those of you wondering whether the last Transformers movie was shot in IMAX, since it played in IMAX cinemas, the answer is no. Most of the big Hollywood movies which show up in IMAX aren’t actually shot in IMAX, they’re just shoehorned into the format. If you’ve seen The Dark Knight, you know how stunning the difference is when a film takes full advantage of all the grandeur of the IMAX format.

Michael Bay isn’t the only director with IMAX aspirations though. Jon Favreau is considering using IMAX cameras on Iron Man 2, and D.J. Caruso is talking about doing the same for Y. The Last Man.

Shooting in IMAX can be a pain. The cameras are big and unwieldy and the process is costly. Who knows what final impact The Dark Knight will have on cinema in the years to come, but if nothing else it’s proven that IMAX is not only viable, it’s worth the trouble. The Dark Knight is a better movie for it, and the film’s box office reflected that, earning record dollars in IMAX theaters. Many critics, myself included, pronounced IMAX the only way to see the movie and audiences responded, some journeying hundreds of miles to seek out IMAX theaters.