Christian Bale takes on the lead role in Batman

Hollywood is gearing up for the US premiere of Batman Begins, starring Christian Bale as the caped crusader .

Stars of the film - including Sir Michael Caine and Katie Holmes - are expected at Grauman's Chinese Theatre for the premiere on Monday night.

The film, directed by Christopher Nolan, promises to be darker even than Tim Burton's 1989 version, starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson.

Batman Begins will open in UK cinemas on 19 June.

The brooding and violent prequel to the four previous Batman films from Burton and Joel Schumacher, is based on a story by David S Goyer.

Following the murder of his parents, heir Bruce Wayne uses his inheritance to travel the world, to destroy evil and restore justice.

Back home in Gotham City, he establishes his crime-fighting alter-ego, Batman, to fight evil characters like The Scarecrow and the immortal R'as Al Ghul.

Caine plays his loyal butler Alfred while Holmes takes on the role of district attorney Rachel Dawes.

Batman Begins had its world premiere in Japan on 31 May.

(BBC)

gear up : 使換快檔，促進，增加

caped: 披著斗篷的

crusader: 十字軍戰士，改革者

prequel: a literary, cinematic, or dramatic work taking place in or concerned with a time before the action of a preexisting work（先行篇，前篇）

inheritance: something regarded as a heritage（遺傳，遺產）