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All fighting, all grimacing — though sometimes all smiling, weeping and singing — “Dragon Blade” is the kind of nutsy maximalist entertainment that isn’t content merely to tap a handful of influences. Instead, it stuffs an entire encyclopedia of dicey ideas (visual, narrative, political) into a blender to create a wacky, eyeball-popping and -glazing extravaganza that suggests a Cecil B. DeMille Bible epic, a Chinese military parade and a Busby Berkeley musical, at times all at once. And while it can be tough to find the human pulse amid the spectacle noise, Jackie Chan, John Cusack, Adrien Brody and a trillion horse-riding extras are also part of the very big picture.
所有人大打出手、所有人面露痛苦表情——不过有时所有人也微笑、流泪、歌唱——《天将雄师》是那种疯疯癫癫的多数派娱乐，不仅仅满足于造成一点点影响。它把各种百科全书般的冒险点子（视觉的、叙事的、政治的）统统塞在一起，创造出这样一部疯狂古怪、令人大开眼界，也让人目瞪口呆的盛大表演，犹如把塞西尔·B·戴米尔(Cecil B. DeMille)的圣经史诗、中国阅兵队列还有巴斯比·伯克利(Busby Berkeley)的音乐剧一股脑结合在一起。光怪陆离的喧嚣，成龙、约翰·库萨克(John Cusack)、阿德里安·布洛迪(Adrien Brody)的表演与万马奔腾的壮观景象不过是大场面的一部分，但在这一切盛大景象之中却很难寻觅一丝人性的脉搏。
The least interesting question to ask about a movie like “Dragon Blade” is whether it’s any good. Of course it isn’t, not especially, but questions of quality pale next to the greater headscratcher: What is it? For starters, it is a Jackie Chan vehicle, a period story, a Chinese production and a huge 2015 box-office hit in the People’s Republic. (It opened in China in February.) Written and directed by the genre-smashing Daniel Lee, who has epic DeMille-level ambitions, the movie takes place in the first part of the Han dynasty, when the court, supported by its elites, ruled its far-flung empire with military muscle and bureaucratic administration. So the movie, which involves a government squad protecting the Silk Road, may be a resonant, topical metaphor — or not.
对于《天将雄师》这样一部影片来说，最扫兴的问题莫过于，“这样一部片子究竟有什么好？”它当然没什么好的，反正没什么特别好的。但是在另一个更让人挠头的问题面前，关于影片质量的追问也不禁相形见绌——“它到底是什么东西？”从预告片来看，它是一部成龙大片、一部古装剧、一部中国片，2015年在中国收获了巨大票房（该片于2月在中国首映）。影片由极擅长类型片的李仁港编剧并执导，他有着戴米尔级的史诗抱负。电影的故事发生在西汉年间，朝廷内精英云集，依靠强大的武力和官僚行政体系统治着幅员辽阔的帝国。所以这部关于政府行动队保护丝绸之路的影片有可能是一种对时事的隐喻和联想——也可能不是。
Whatever it is, it is also about putting on a really big show with your pals, who here include both the fantastically outfitted constituencies of 36 nations who swirl around the Silk Road and a legion of Roman soldiers who materialize on it one day, having apparently taken a wrong turn on the Appian Way. The clotted story involves how these different groups are juggled with a broad smile and some fancy footwork by Huo An (Mr. Chan), the leader of the Silk Road guard. A jolly, friendly warrior with chin fuzz, some swinging Heidi braids and the kind of intricately detailed costume that turns seamstresses blind, Huo insists on giving peace a chance, even when dodging arrows shot by Cold Moon (Lin Peng), one of the few women in what is otherwise an enormous brotherly be-in.
不管究竟是什么，它总归是大家齐心协力奉上的一部巨献，包括身穿奇妙服装往来于丝绸之路的36个民族，还有一夜之间现身的古罗马军团——他们显然是在亚壁古道上走错了方向。故事中包括两股势力，他们面带微笑，勾心斗角，还有丝绸之路守军领袖霍安（成龙饰）的花哨步法。霍安是个风趣友善的武士，下巴上留着小胡子，编着飘飘荡荡的海蒂辫，身穿复杂细密的服装，足以把一堆女裁缝的眼睛累瞎。霍安坚持给和平一个机会，就算在躲避冷月（林鹏饰演）射来的飞箭时也不例外——影片基本上是兄弟们的大集会，冷月是片中仅有的几个女性角色之一。
Mr. Chan has slowed considerably since his glory action years, even if he still dodges and darts with elastic grace. His character is on the dull side and is mostly a hub for all the swirling parts that Mr. Lee puts into motion. There are many of these, because Mr. Lee, like Michael Bay and other specialists in the art of cinematic mayhem, likes to throw everything at the screen that a monster budget can give him. And, other than women, “Dragon Blade” has a whole lot of everything, including armies of extras, herds of horses, truckloads of feathered-and-furred costumes, bushels of strikingly styled hair, innumerable crane shots and choreographed fights. There’s also a blind Roman boy with a blond mop who sings a nationalist ditty and brings the multitudes to collective tears.
和自己的辉煌年代相比，成龙的动作慢了不少，尽管闪避和疾驰的动作还是那么灵活优雅。他的角色是影片中较为沉闷的部分，在李仁港炮制的各种动作戏中，成龙大都处在各种纷扰场面的中心。片中有很多这样的场面，因为李仁港和迈克尔·贝(Michael Bay)这类擅长制造影院灾难的专家们一样，喜欢把多到可怕的巨额预算能做出来的各种东西统统堆到银幕上。除了女人，《天将雄师》里真是什么都有，大批军队、成群的马匹、一卡车一卡车用羽毛和皮毛装饰的戏服、各种花样翻新的发型、数不清的俯拍镜头和精心设计的打斗场面。还有一个满头金发、双目失明的罗马男孩，唱了一首宣扬民族主义的小调，引得无数围观者潸然泪下。
There are special effects, too, though none as jaw-slackening as the performances from Mr. Cusack and Mr. Brody. Mr. Cusack plays General Lucius, who has ended up on the Silk Road in an effort to protect Publius (Jozef Liu Waite), the warbling babe, from his older brother, General Tiberius (Mr. Brody). Mr. Brody either took his role seriously or can keep a straight face better than Mr. Cusack, whose contortionist expressions tend to suggest someone desperate not to let loose either laughter or bowels. Mr. Brody, by contrast, takes to his villainous role with old-fashioned Basil Rathbone hauteur, swaggering and twirling while leading with his profile. At one point, Mr. Brody even runs his tongue over his bloody hand, as if to acknowledge just how finger-licking good his role is.
当然，也有不少特效，不过最让人惊掉下巴的还要算是库萨克和布洛迪的出演。库萨克饰演卢魁斯将军，在丝绸之路上保卫哭哭啼啼的小婴儿帕比斯（Publius，约瑟夫·刘·韦特[Jozef Liu Waite]），躲避他的哥哥提比斯将军（Tiberius，布洛迪饰）的迫害。布洛迪要么就是真的很拿这个角色当回事，要么就是比库萨克更擅长憋笑，后者的柔软体操式表情让人觉得他得拼命才能不笑出声，不把自己的肠子笑出来。相反，布洛迪以老派的巴兹尔·雷斯波恩(Basil Rathbone)式傲慢演绎了自己的反派角色，他昂首阔步，旋转身体，庄严地发号施令。一次，他甚至用舌头舔舐自己血淋淋的手，好像只是为了展示自己的角色有多么擅长舔手指。
“Dragon Blade” is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). Swords, arrows, bodies!
《天将雄师》被标记为R级（17岁以下需在家长或成年监护人陪伴下观看）。刀剑、箭矢、尸体！
