I’m not a huge fan of watching big-budget Hollywood action movies in an IMAX theater. Documentaries, on the other hand, are perfectly okay, as I think the enormous screen treats the material rather well. However, attempting to watch a caped superhero lock horns with his or her archenemy seems like a phenomenal chore, not to mention a good way to end up with severe neck pain. Then again, maybe I’m just a wimp. That would actually help explain a lot of things.

According to the Wall Street Journal, director Christopher Nolan’s upcoming cinematic extravaganza “The Dark Knight Rises” will contain nearly an hour’s worth of true IMAX footage. In order to experience the film the way it was meant to be seen, curious parties will have to find an IMAX theater near their home and pony up a pretty penny to purchase a ticket. Hardcore Batman fans probably won’t think twice before tossing their hard-earned cash towards the increasing popular cinematic format.

Nolan’s 2008 endeavor “The Dark Knight” also made strategic use of its IMAX footage. In fact, several of the picture’s iconic action set pieces were lensed using these state-of-the-art cameras. “There was a huge irony that we were told it would be too difficult to shoot a Hollywood movie on IMAX when we had this gigantic camera department, grips, electric, hundreds of people working for us,” the acclaimed director told WSJ. “These were cameras that had been to the top of Mount Everest, to the bottom of the ocean and into outer space, but people thought we couldn’t make a feature film. It was absurd.”

The gamble seemed to pay off, so much so that part of Nolan’s agreement with Warner Bros. involved him being able to shoot some of “The Dark Knight Rises” using IMAX technology. The director’s love affair with the format began during his childhood, when he would visit Museum of Science and Industry in order to see such documentaries as “Everest” and “To Fly”. When Nolan’s latest creation arrives in theaters, it will contain the most IMAX footage ever in a Hollywood motion picture.

“The Dark Knight Rises”, which stars Christian Bale, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, and Gary Oldman, opens in theaters on July 20th.