從1962年的《諾博士》算起至去年止，詹姆斯?邦德在大銀幕上已經風靡了整整50年。經歷了半個世紀的摸爬滾打，這位英國王牌間諜依然風流倜儻，屹立不倒。邦德這個名字已超越了單純的文學經典和銀幕傳奇，升華為一個文化符號，一個歷久彌新的時代印記。那么，他戰無不勝、長盛不衰的奧秘究竟何在？

鐘凡凡 選注

The James Bond movie series turned 50 in 2012. For almost half the time that feature films have been in existence, there have been feature films about a secret agent codenamed 007. It is a unique achievement. The pertinent question, though, is not why Bond has lasted so long, but why other film series have not. Cinema-goers are routinely faced with a fourth “Ice Age” cartoon or a third instalment of “Alvin and the Chipmunks”. It would not be wildly inaccurate to suggest that Hollywood is obsessed with creating strings of sequels. So it is curious to note that while there are TV soap operas and superhero comics which have kept going for decades, so far nothing on the big screen has come close to matching 007 for longevity and popularity.

What is Bond’s winning formula? According to a new documentary, Everything or Nothing: the Untold Story of 007, one key factor is the balance between continuity and change, between staying reliably the same and seeming fresh and new. Certain elements of every Bond movie are unwavering, so we feel an affectionate familiarity with them; others are new each time, so we don’t feel as if we are watching the same film over and over again.

We can all list the features that stay the same: There is the pre-credit stunt sequence and the bombastic ballad, the briefing with M and the visit to a casino, or a swanky party, or both. There are gadgets and car chases and seductive women, one of whom may well be a villainess. And, crucially , there is James Bond himself. We know how he introduces himself, how he likes his vodka martinis and how good he looks in a tuxedo. We know he will be the same remorseless killer at the end of the film as he is at the start. The director of a new Bond film is licensed to get on with the story knowing that we have already bonded with Bond. It is a rare advantage. How many other characters are so iconic that they can survive a change of actors without any drop in popularity?

But while the 007 formula may seem as rigid as one of Sean Connery’s toupees, the space within it that is left open for variation and evolution is just as important. Each film can have a new villain, a different love interest and any number of exotic locations. What’s more, it can be set in different time periods, in that Bond always operates in the period when the film is made, whether that is the 1960s, the 21st century or at any point in between. This allows the films to adapt to the cinematic trend of the moment, be it blaxploitation (Live and Let Die, 1973) or kung fu (The Man With The Golden Gun, 1974).

Look for that cocktail of stability and malleability in other movie series and you will not find it. Batman and Spider-Man, for instance, are restricted to their stomping grounds of Gotham and New York, where they encounter the same small roster of colourful antagonists. No wonder audiences wouldn’t put up with them for 50 years without a break. Zorro, The Three Musketeers, and The Pirates of the Caribbean are all tied to specific places and periods. Indiana Jones may not to be bound to a specific milieu, but he is synonymous with a specific actor. Even Britain’s campy “Carry On” series faltered when it lost its key cast members. Bond’s closest competitor in recent years, the Bourne movie series, ticks many of the same boxes as 007. Matt Damon has been replaced semi-successfully with Jeremy Renner, and Bourne can go anywhere in the world so we need not tire of the same old backdrops. But whether the hero is played by Mr. Damon or Mr. Renner, he is always tangling with one particular American government agency, so it is hard to see the series continuing for another four decades.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, there are movie series which are so loose and indistinct that almost nothing connects the various instalments, leaving little for an audience to grow attached to. The “Die Hard” films have little in common with each other except the presence of Bruce Willis (and a token connection between the baddies of parts one and three). “Mission: Impossible” has the same problem. Four episodes in, we still have only a fuzzy impression of who Tom Cruise’s character is or which organisation he works for.

Ask yourself this: would anyone get excited if a “Mission: Impossible” finished with the caption “Ethan Hunt Will Return”? It is unlikely. But when a Bond film finishes with the equivalent promise, it still leaves a tingle of anticipation, even after 50 years.

Vocabulary

1. feature film: 正片，一般指片長在90分鐘至210分鐘的電影，用于與動畫短片、預告片等其他類型的視頻影片區分開來；agent: 政府特工人員；codename: 給（情報人員、特工等）規定代號。

2. pertinent: 有關的，相關的。

3. routinely: 例行公事地，老一套地；Ice Age: “冰河世紀”系列，是于2002年首次發行的美國動畫電影，由藍天工作室制作。至2012年止，“冰河世紀”系列已經出到了第四部；instalment: （分期連載、播放的）部分；Alvin and the Chipmunks: “艾爾文與花栗鼠”，是以三只小花栗鼠為主角的3D動畫與真人結合的電影系列，目前已經出到第三部。

4. 如果你認為好萊塢沉迷于創作一連串的系列影片，那你也不算錯得離譜。wildly: 非常，極其；string of: 一系列（類似的事物）。

5. big screen: 大屏幕，這里指電影院的大銀幕；longevity: 長壽，持久。

6. winning formula: 獲勝法寶。

7. documentary: 紀錄片，紀實性影片；continuity: 連續性，持續性；reliably: 可信賴地，可靠地。

8. unwavering: 堅定的，始終如一的；affectionate: 深情的，充滿愛慕之情的。

9. 我們可以列出那些經久不衰的鏡頭：片頭精湛的特技、夸張的配樂、M女士簡要介紹任務、出入賭場和奢華的宴會等。pre-credit: 電影片頭演職員名單之前的開場片段；stunt: 特技，特效；bombastic: 辭藻華麗而空洞的；swanky: 〈口〉非常時髦的，奢華的。

10. gadget: 小玩意兒，小裝置；villainess: 女反面人物，女反派人物。

11. crucially: 至關重要地，關鍵性地。

12. vodka martinis: 伏特加馬提尼，一種著名的雞尾酒；tuxedo: （在正式場合穿的）男式無尾禮服上衣。

13. remorseless: 冷酷的，無情的。

14. 新一部007系列電影的導演知道觀眾們早已被邦德所傾倒，他便理所當然地（在新電影中）延續這個人物主題。be licensed to: （行動、言論等）不受約束，縱容。

15. iconic: 標志性的，成為偶像的；drop: 下跌，下降。

16. 盡管007系列電影的制勝法寶看起來可能就像肖恩?康納利的假發似的一層不變，但同樣重要的是，它也為改變和改善提供了新的空間。rigid: 僵硬的，不靈活的；Sean Connery: 肖恩?康納利，以出演邦德而聞名的著名男演員；toupee: 假發。

17. exotic: 異國的，非本地的。

18. blaxploitation: （拍攝電影時）采用黑人演員（以吸引黑人觀眾），（黑人主演的）電影和戲??；文中提到的電影分別是《你死我活》和《金槍客》。

19. 在其他電影系列中，你找不到穩定性與可塑性如此完美地融合。cocktail: 混合物；malleability: 可塑性，可鍛性。

20. stomping ground: 〈美〉某人常喜歡去的地方；Gotham: 高譚市，一座虛擬城市，是蝙蝠俠的故鄉；roster: 花名冊，名單；antagonist: 敵手，對手。

21. put up with: 忍耐，忍受；break: 中斷，暫停。

22. 此處提到的電影依次是《佐羅》、《三個火槍手》和《加勒比海盜》。

23. be bound to: 與……緊密聯系在一起；milieu: 社會背景，周圍環境；synonymous with: 相似的，成……代名詞的。

24. campy: （由于過分矯揉造作等而被認為）滑稽可笑的；falter: 衰退，衰落。

25. the Bourne: 以杰森?伯恩為男主角的“諜影重重”系列電影；tick boxes: 在方框里打鉤，這里指的是“具有許多以上提到的優秀特質”。

26. Jeremy Renner: 杰瑞米?雷納，美國演員，因出演《拆彈部隊》和《復仇者聯盟》而出名，之后還出演《諜影重重4》的男主角；backdrop: 背景。

27. tangle with: 與……發生糾紛，與……有糾葛。

28. at the other end of the spectrum: 另一方面；loose: 松散的，可分開的；indistinct: 模糊的，難以清楚辨認的；grow attached to: 逐漸喜歡上，逐漸迷戀上。

29. Die hard: 以布魯斯?威利斯為男主角的“虎膽龍威”系列；token: 裝樣子的，裝點門面的；baddy: 〈口〉（電影、書等中的）壞人，惡棍。

30. Mission Impossible: 由湯姆?克魯斯主演的“碟中諜”系列電影。

31. episode: （電影、電視等的）一集；fuzzy: 不清晰的，不明顯的。

32. caption: （新聞報道、文章等的）大標題；Ethan Hunt: 伊森?亨特，“碟中諜”系列的男主角。

33. equivalent: 相同的，相等的；a tinge of: 一絲，些許；anticipation: 盼望，期待。

（來源：英語學習雜志 編輯：丹妮）