If you are expecting to see a Chinese Superman when you sit down with your popcorn to watch the new science-fiction film Metallic Attraction: Kungfu Cyborg , you’ll be sorely disappointed. True, the robot De Ming (Alex Fong) featured in the movie isn’t a bird or a plane, but neither is he a character that will linger in your mind beyond 2009.
當你抱著爆米花，坐在影院里觀看最新的科幻大片《機器俠》時，如果你期待能看到一個中國式超人，那么你要大失所望了。誠然，片中的機器人德明(方力申飾)既不是鳥也不是飛機，但他也不會是2009年度令你印象深刻的電影角色之一。
Jeffrey Lau’s Kungfu Cyborg disappoints much like most of China’s sci-fi films have. This suggests that the genre is nowhere close to competing with the sci-fi movies that Hollywood turns out, such as the recent Transformers.
同許多國產科幻電影一樣，劉鎮偉的《機器俠》讓人感到失望。這也表明，國內此類電影還遠遠無法與好萊塢出品的科幻大片相提并論——比如說最近的變形金剛系列。
Set in the year 2046, Kungfu Cyborg tells the story of a police robot who falls in love with a pretty human officer named Su Mei (Sun Li). Naturally, there is a bad guy--an evil robot named K88--but the movie never really advances beyond your typical romance flick.
《機器俠》故事背景被設置在2046年，影片講述了一個機器警察的故事，片中他愛上了漂亮的人類女警花素梅(孫儷飾)。自然也會有壞人出現——一個代號為K88的邪惡機器人，但整部影片在情節的推進上還是落入了愛情片的俗套。
The film’s weaknesses include predictable plotting as well as unimaginative characters and settings. "Advanced robots, bioweapons, or supernatural abilities themselves aren’t enough to make a sci-fi film," the film critic Yang Jinsong told 21st Century. "Instead, sci-fi films should be all about imagination. They have to depict the future, or create a futuristic atmosphere that we’ve never dared to think about. I have yet to see anything unpredictable [in Chinese sci-fi films]."
這部影片的缺點包括老套的情節設計，以及缺乏想象力的角色和布景。影評人楊錦松向21世紀報記者說：“先進的機器人，生化武器或者是超能力這些事物本身不足以構成一部科幻電影。相反，科幻電影應該是充滿想象力的。他們應該描繪未來，或者營造出一個我們從未敢想的超現實氛圍。在中國的科幻電影中，我還沒有看到任何超乎想象的事物。”
Chinese filmmakers are at a disadvantage when it comes to using special effects. Kungfu Cyborg’s relatively small budget can’t hold a candle to the billions of dollars thrown at movies like Terminator and Transformers.
一旦涉及到特技運用，中國電影人就會處于劣勢。相對于像《終結者》或《變形金剛》這樣大片動輒上億美元的投入，《機器俠》的預算少得可憐。
But Yang points to another reason for China’s disappointing sci-fi films: culture. Chinese filmmakers’ cultural orientation, he says, tends to focus on the past and the present--not the future. "We feel more at ease exploring the problems of present metropolitan life, or reminiscing about the old days," said Yang. "We’re not so used to thinking imaginatively about the future world."
但楊錦松也指出了國產科幻片讓人失望的另一個原因：文化。他說，基于自身的文化背景，中國電影人更傾向于關注過去和現在，而不是未來：“探討現代都市生活問題或緬懷過去時光，這些我們更拿手，我們還不習慣富有想象力地去思考未來世界。”
The Chinese sci-fi film and TV tradition dates back to the 1970s and 1980s. Many in the post-80s generation will remember, for instance, Pili Beibei or Thunderbolt Baby. This popular film version told the story of a clever, electrified schoolboy born on the night of a UFO visit. It was made by Zhang Zhilu in 1987, on a budget of only 470,000 yuan.
中國科幻電影、電視劇的淵源可以追溯到上世紀七八十年代。許多80后都會記得《霹靂貝貝》一片。這部曾風靡一時的電影講述了一名聰明機智、身上帶電的小男孩的故事，他出生于一個飛碟來訪的夜晚。影片由張之路于1987年拍攝，預算僅47萬元人民幣。
Wu Yan, a sci-fi expert and professor at Beijing Normal University, attributes the film’s popularity to its human touch. "Most of us would secretly like to have super abilities to accomplish whatever we want, especially when we are children," Wu said. "The director turned that dream into reality, so it satisfied the viewers."
北京師范大學教授，科幻文學專家吳艷將此片的成功歸功于它的人性化：“我們很多人可能都偷偷幻想過自己擁有超能力，可以隨心所欲，尤其是在童年時代。影片導演將這種幻想變成了現實，從而滿足了觀眾的心理。”
But like most of the sci-fi films that followed it, Thunderbolt Baby failed to imagine the future. Wu believes it will take years for China to improve its sci-fi filmmaking. In addition to a good story, the industry will need a whole new force of people with a futuristic sense.
但與后來的許多科幻電影如出一轍，《霹靂貝貝》沒能想象未來。吳艷認為中國科幻電影制作業的發展尚需時日。除了好的故事，這個行業還需要一支具備超現實感的全新隊伍。
Lu Xinwen, a 19-year-old business major at Nanjing University, thinks his generation might be the one to make a Chinese Superman. After all, they have grown up in the world of cyber games and Harry Potter. For now, though, Chinese filmgoers can only wait.
盧新文，19歲，就讀于南京大學國際貿易專業，他認為或許他們這一代可以創造出中國的超人。畢竟，他們生活在一個充滿網絡游戲和哈利波特的世界里。現在中國觀眾能做的只有翹首以待了。 |
大學英語---