( CNN ) -- `` The Dark Knight '' opened early Friday to huge crowds and rave reviews . Colorado teen Christina Perez says she painted her face like the Joker as a tribute to Heath Ledger . Much of the praise has gone to Heath Ledger 's dark and disturbing portrayal of the Joker . Ledger died of an accidental drug overdose before the movie was finished . iReporter Chelsea Itson , a 23-year-old student , went to the 12:15 a.m. showing in Perrysburg , Ohio , and could n't sleep afterward . `` It still has me kind of jittery , '' she told CNN . Itson saw the first `` Batman '' movie , but was n't a big fan of the series , or Heath Ledger , but said her friend wanted to go . iReporter has n't been to sleep since seeing film » . `` It was completely different from Jack Nicholson [ as the Joker ] , '' she said . After the movie , she said , the audience was silent . `` I 've never left a movie shaking before , '' she said . Christina Perez , of Colorado Springs , Colorado , and her friends went to the theater four hours early to make sure they got a good seat . `` There was already a line going along the side of the theater , but we managed to get good seats anyway , '' she said . The 17-year-old says she 's more of a Heath Ledger fan than a Batman fan , and she wore Joker make up as a tribute to him . `` I thought he was amazing . I felt really sad that he died while filming this , his role was so amazing , '' she said . Jessica Lang , 15 , of Mankato , Minnesota , said she was n't expecting much from the movie and pretty much went only because her brother and some friends wanted to go . `` It was amazing , there were no words for it , it was so good , it was probably the best movie I 've ever seen , '' she said . Jenni Smith went to the 3 a.m. showing in Las Vegas , Nevada , even though she had to be at work that day . She and her friends went straight to bed after work Thursday , then got up at 1 a.m. `` I 'm a big comic book fan , and I 've been reading comic books since I was 5 . And I 'm also a big movie fan , and we tend to go to a lot of movie openings . '' Her friend Mario Carrillo also dressed up as the Joker , and she made a custom shirt for the event . `` One of the things I just really love is the energy of the crowd on opening day . I find that people are more willing to laugh out loud and cheer . ... It 's worth staying up for , '' the 32-year-old publications manager said . Below is a sampling of iReporters ' impressions of `` The Dark Knight . '' Some have been edited for length or clarity : . sanjeeva7 of Alpharetta , Georgia : Believe the hype . The Dark Knight lived up to the hype , especially Heath Ledger 's role as The Joker . I really felt he was crazy . One of the best villain portrayals of all time and well deserving of an Oscar nomination . Geno Walker of Charlotte , North Carolina : `` Unless you hate yourself , you should go see this movie immediately . Stop reading this right now and go to the nearest movie theater . It does n't even matter if the show has already started . Buy a ticket , walk in halfway through , sit down and wait for the next showing to start . See it soon and see it often . You 'll love yourself more if you do . '' mrRG : `` A haunting experiment into the human psyche is the only way I can describe the unequivocal depth that Ledger was able to reach with this portrayal of one the most evil characters ever brought to the screen . It was definitely Bale 's story , but the late Heath Ledger 's movie . sonnyjc9 : Wife and I watched this yesterday 17 July here in Bangkok , Thailand . Heath Ledger is AWESOME as the Joker . 154 minutes of pure entertainment , and you will be giggling to yourself from Heath 's performance . It is sad to think he will never reprise this role , but what a farewell . Must see . Zandz : We went to the premiere of this movie last night and thought the movie was only good . However , Heath Ledger did an excellent job portraying the the Joker . The way Heath Ledger plays the Joker is different than how Jack Nicholson plays the character . Both have their unique styles -- Nicholson 's Joker was more comical , but Ledger 's was more dark ( while trying to be funny ) . The makeup artists also did a great job on this Joker 's face .
iReporters got up early , stayed up late to see `` The Dark Night '' Christina Perez got to the theater four hours early . ` ` Best movie I 've ever seen , '' Jessica Lang said . '" It's a great story about love and friendship and family. "