It's not often you see a giant bat-shaped car driving through central London, unless perhaps Batman is in town.

The caped crusader's famous Batmobile was here for the European premiere of new Batman film The Dark Knight, a film which has already been making waves at the US box office.

It has set a box office record for best opening weekend ever, taking $155m (1.1bn yuan) in the US alone in its first three days in cinemas.

But while it is not unusual for summer blockbusters to make a lot of money, what is less common is for such films to receive good reviews from critics.

"An epic that will leave you staggering from the theatre, stunned by its scope and complexity," was how Associated Press described the film, one of many reviews which sung the praises of the latest Batman film.

The movie, which stars British actor Christian Bale in the lead role and the late Heath Ledger as his arch-enemy the Joker, has already been voted the number one film of all time by users of the website imdb.com.

The story follows the superhero Batman as he battles the criminal underworld in the fictional Gotham City.

One particularly stunning part sees Batman leap from the top of the International Finance Centre in Hong Kong; and even features a cameo role for controversial star Edison Chen.

Many critics have singled out Heath Ledger's performance as the maniacal Joker, who wreaks mayhem as Batman tries to stop him.

Anglo-American director Christopher Nolan described his performance as breathtaking, complex and "hard to pin down". Co-star Sir Michael Caine called him "one of the greatest villains you've ever seen."

Ledger died earlier this year from an accidental prescription drugs overdose. It now looks likely that he will receive a posthumous Oscar nomination.