真人特效版《忍者神龜》歸來
My excitement before watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest reboot for the 1980s’ comic series, brought back the feeling of when I was a kid, waiting in front of the TV every day after school for a 20-minute episode.
即將上映的電影《忍者神龜：變種時代》（以下簡稱《忍者神龜》）讓我想起了20世紀八十年代忍者神龜動畫片播出時，還是孩子的我，每天放學後守在電視機前看那20分鐘劇集時的興奮。Compared with other popular cartoons from my childhood, the idea of four turtle brothers with a pizza addiction living in the sewer wasn’t nearly as cool as, say, the Transformers fighting to save the planet.
相較於兒時觀看的其他動畫片，住在下水道里愛吃披薩的四個忍者神龜也許沒有拯救地球的變形金剛那麼酷。
But the Ninja Turtles were weirdly unique, and the crime-fighting chelonians known as Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael have proven themselves to be surprisingly resilient over the years. They’ve starred in four separate TV series (in 1987, 1997, 2003 and 2012), a 1990 live-action movie, and an animated feature in 2007.
但他們的獨一無二卻是無人能敵的。事實證明，這四隻懲惡揚善的神龜——達芬奇、米開朗基羅、多納泰羅和拉斐爾，歷經多年依舊大受喜愛：他們（分別於1987年，1997年，2003年和2012年）“出演”了四版電視動畫，1990年上映的真人電影，以及2007年的動畫電影。
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles opens with an engaging, animated prologue that recalls how our four half-shelled heroes were birthed from a lab experiment before taking up secret residence in the tunnels of the New York sewer system. Years later, New York faces a threat in the form of ruthless villain Shredder and his menacing Foot Clan.
影片一開場，生動而引人入勝的開場白就讓我們回憶起祕密居住在紐約地下管道前，四個身披硬甲的主人公在實驗室裏誕生的畫面。幾年後，紐約受到來自無情大反派施萊德和他率領的異族的威脅。The cameras then turn to Megan Fox, who as television news reporter April O’Neil desperately tries to convince her incredulous boss she’s got proof of vigilantes battling Shredder’s troops.
然後，鏡頭轉向了梅根?福克斯飾演的電視臺新聞記者愛普莉爾?奧尼爾，她正拼命說服老闆，說自己已經掌握了治安隊與施萊德戰鬥的證據。Despite the nostalgic storyline, director Jonathan Liebesman (Battle Los Angeles) gives the four heroes a modern gloss. And thanks to his technical treatment, the turtles’ movements look highly realistic.
雖然故事情節懷舊，但是導演喬納森?理貝斯曼的潤色讓四個英雄頗具現代感。同時，他在技術上的處理也讓神龜的動作看來十分逼真。As an action movie, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is loaded with inventive touches during big action sequences, including one chase down the side of a snowy mountain involving our turtles, April and a bunch of jeeps, which is quite different from the usual car chase or rooftop battle scene featured in most other action flicks.
作爲動作電影，《忍者神龜》中的大量動作場面都充滿新意，比如神龜們、艾普莉爾和吉普車隊在雪山一側的追逐場面，就與很多動作電影的汽車追逐或屋頂打鬥完全不同，讓人眼前一亮。The movie also features the distinguishable traits of a Michael Bay (Transformers) production. Like the Transformers series, the characters in the film are actually supporting roles to a human character, Megan Fox’s April. And of course, humor comes in the form of heavy pop-culture references.
作爲監製，邁克爾?貝（《變形金剛》的導演）作品的特點也可從影片中看出。和《變形金剛》系列相似，片中的人物實際上都是爲了烘托梅根?福克斯飾演的艾普莉爾這個人類角色。當然，片中的幽默也大多來自流行文化。These were all well-calculated decisions, actually. Kids love the animated turtles. Teenagers can appreciate the mixture of straight action with wisecracks, not to mention the presence of the alluring Fox.
這些安排顯然都是經過精心計算的：孩子們喜歡動畫裏的忍者神龜。青少年則更喜歡行雲流水的動作，加上妙語連珠的臺詞，更不要說還有迷人的福克斯。Add in flashes of nostalgia for adults such as myself, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles appeals to a wide demographic. I’m already looking forward to the next two installments in the trilogy.
而電影裏的懷舊風正迎合了像我這樣的成年人。《忍者神龜》因此吸引了各年齡段的觀衆。我已經開始期待這個系列接下來的兩部影片了。
