《生死搏击》()是英国独立单元剧《黑镜》第5季第1集,由查理·布鲁克编剧,执导。影片随第5季其他两集于2019年6月5日上线Netflix。
该集讲述好朋友丹尼·帕克(安东尼·麦凯 饰)和卡尔·霍顿在在虚拟现实格斗游戏中相迎,在线上发生性关系,影响丹尼在现实生活中与妻子泰奥( 饰)的婚姻关系。本集角色均由黑人演员扮演,在巴西取景。剧情原型是两位不知道彼此身份的同事在虚拟现实艳遇。
剧评人认为该集的主题是性与性别的流动性、婚外情、爱情与友情,部分人怀疑丹尼和卡尔是不是同性恋,他们的关系算不算艳遇。至于影片是否利用有趣的手法探讨这些主题,剧评人的看法不一,部分人认为该集类似于第3季的《圣朱尼佩洛》,那一集也讲一对酷儿在虚拟世界的恋爱。演员及导演大体上受到称赞,但部分影评人认为影片缺乏角色塑造。
剧情
27岁的丹尼·帕克(安东尼·麦凯 饰)与女友泰奥( 饰)一起去酒吧,但形同陌路人。回家做完爱,丹尼玩起格斗游戏《-{zh-hans:生死搏击;zh-hant:進擊的毒蛇;}-》(Striking Vipers),开得很大声。线上的好友卡尔·霍顿(葉海亞·阿巴杜-馬汀二世 饰)和他分别选了各自喜好的角色兰斯(Lance)和罗克赛特(Roxette)。泰奥此时被吵醒。
11年后,丹尼和泰奥在家里举行烧烤派对,此时丹尼已经结婚,还有一个5岁的孩子。另一边厢,卡尔也正在和年轻女子玛丽拉(Mariella)恋爱,没在和丹尼联络。派对上,卡尔送给丹尼一份生日礼物,是《-{zh-hans:生死搏击;zh-hant:進擊的毒蛇;}-》系列最新作《-{zh-hans:生死搏击;zh-hant:進擊的毒蛇;}-10》(Striking Vipers X),以及用来玩这款游戏的虚拟现实设备。那天晚上,两人回到各自的家来玩这款游戏。戴上虚拟现实设备的两人在现实中一动不动,完全沉浸在兰斯和罗克赛特的全部感受中。经历一个回合的格斗,两人体会到货真价实的痛苦,累得靠着彼此瘫倒在地。突然,卡尔亲了丹尼一口,丹尼怔住几秒,将对方推开,随后离开了游戏。
接下来几个礼拜,丹尼和卡尔利用角色的身体,在游戏中做爱。泰奥发现丹尼正变得沉闷,不想和她做爱,虽然两个人很想要孩子。结婚周年纪念日当天,泰奥质问丹尼是否出轨,丹尼说自己没有,另一边跟卡尔说不能继续玩这个游戏了。
丹尼来年生日突然邀请卡尔一起吃晚饭。卡尔对丹尼说,他跟电脑控制的角色或其他玩家体会不到先前的那种感受。晚上,两个人又进入游戏,轰轰烈烈地做爱。事后,卡尔说了句“我爱你”,丹尼找他在现实生活中见面,两人抱着彼此的肉体热吻,但却体会不到任何感觉。卡尔说应该继续在游戏中见面,但丹尼不同意,结果两人打了起来,被路过的警车看见。泰奥从警察局接走丹尼,丹尼想到打架的原因,生气闷气。
7月14日那天,在达成协议的情况下,丹尼约卡尔一起玩《-{zh-hans:生死搏击;zh-hant:進擊的毒蛇;}-10》,泰奥则摘掉了婚戒,去酒吧和陌生人约会。
制作
《黑镜》第四季上线三个月,2018年3月,Netflix续订第五季。原本纳入第五季的互动剧集《黑镜:潘达斯奈基》后来扩大成为独立电影,从第五季分离出来,2018年12月28日首播。有别于包含六集的第三季,本集只有三集,创剧人查理·布鲁克认为只出三集可以在下一季播出前吊足观众的胃口。这三集分别叫《生死搏击》、《碎片》、《瑞秋、洁柯和小艾希莉》,于2019年6月5日在Netflix同步上线。由于《黑镜》采用独立单元剧体裁,各剧集之间没有联系,观众可以乱序观看每一集。《生死搏击》在《潘达斯奈基》之前拍摄。
构思与编剧
本集由布鲁克与执行制片人联袂编剧。最初设想是一位办公室合伙人在虚拟现实模拟游戏中进行团建,为表演音乐剧《油脂》做准备。活动中,每位员工的身份都不向外界透露。这个想法是为两名员工在模拟游戏中外遇而构思的。剧情随时间推移不断变更,另一个灵感来源随之出现:布鲁克回想起1990年代与室友一起玩格斗游戏《铁拳》的经历,好像有“”之类的有趣事情在萌发,“十分狂野”。许多格斗游戏在《生死搏击》编剧阶段被用做参考,其中一款便是《生死格斗》系列,这款作品将游戏角色设计得挑起玩家性欲。
色情作品是编剧讨论的一大主题。琼斯表示这一集探讨“色情作品什么时候不再是有益的干扰,而成了实打实的外遇体验”这个问题。本集的三位主角都是黑人,其中安东尼·麦凯扮演丹尼,叶海亚·阿巴杜-马汀二世扮演卡尔,妮可·贝哈里扮演泰奥。贝哈里参演前就是本剧的头号粉丝。在《-{zh-hans:生死搏击;zh-hant:進擊的毒蛇;}-X》中,丹尼选用的兰斯由林路迪扮演,卡尔选用的罗克赛特由庞·克莱门捷夫(Pom Klementieff)扮演。巧合的是,这四位演员都曾在漫改电影中担纲主角,麦凯扮演,克莱门捷夫扮演螳螂女,阿巴杜-马汀扮演黑蝠鲼,林路迪在《金刚战士》中扮演。剧本原本按要求设置在英格兰郊区,后改为美国。
, one of about 20 São Paulo, Brazil, locations used in the episode.]]
Harris found it interesting that the bromance had not been subverted often in fiction, and enjoyed the question of whether society's views on monogamy and marriage might change, like how attitudes to dating changed with the prevalence of s. Harris said that the episode had a dark humour, and one of the lines which helped him understand it was Karl's "I fucked a polar bear and I still couldn't get you out of my mind", which became oft-repeated by fans. When asked about fans, Mackie said that those who approached him would either be interested in a long conversation about the themes of the episode, or make homophobic and uninformed comments about it.
Jones said of Danny and Karl's real-life kiss that both actors aimed to be clear that the excitement from Striking Vipers X was "not being echoed in the real world", and that the characters were relieved by this. Abdul-Mateen thought the scene was important in its depiction of two black men with "a vessel to explore their sexuality and to understand who they are". Stubbs saw that as in "San Junipero", the episode "finds the beauty and ugliness in a new form of romance". Stubbs and Wireds Matt Reynolds found that in "Striking Vipers", the technology is not the focus of the episode—instead its implications and the human stories are. Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club analysed that the episode has humour but it is "never designed to undercut the emotional development of the characters". Sexual and gender fluidity, infidelity and love and friendship are major themes, with The Guardians Lucy Mangan writing that "every boundary is porous". Commenting in Wired, Victoria Turk viewed the episode as making a case that engaging in virtual reality porn is infidelity.
Critics explored the implications of Danny and Karl's relationship. Vorel wondered whether it was a romantic or physical connection, how Karl's choice to play a woman related to his masculinity, and whether there would still be attraction if Danny and Karl swapped characters. He called the pair "two alpha males" who feel "shock and embarrassment" when made to confront their sexualities. Den of Geeks Alec Bojalad gave a partial answer that "there is at least some homosexual energy" but "Roxette and Lance's bodies are an essential part of the equation". Bojalad found that despite uncertainty over their sexuality, Danny and Karl "needed each other in ways they didn't fully understand because they didn't have the language for it". Another perspective came from Bojalad, who wrote that the episode sees video games as "a safe, consequence-free simulation space for little boys and eventually little men to work though the complex feelings they've so often ignored". His sex with Theo is for conception, not enjoyment.
评价
On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the episode holds an approval rating of 73% based on 37 reviews. The website summarises that critics found it "well-produced and thought-provoking", but that "holding back its emotional punch" makes it less powerful than similar episodes. Out of five stars, the episode received ratings of five stars from the BBC, four stars in The Independent, two stars in The Telegraph and one star in Vulture.
Critics identified various parts of the plot to be weak. Power criticised the occurrence of virtual reality "as a plot device" as overused in Black Mirror. Sims said that the ending was "odd" and "slightly melancholy". Reynolds thought that the episode's themes were "explored in a more gripping way" in "San Junipero". Lodge criticised that "queer desire is treated... as a disorienting byproduct of alien technology rather than a matter of the heart" and that the implications of Karl enjoying sexual experiences in a woman's body are "glibly grazed over".
- 13th – Aubrey Page, Collider
- 14th – Travis Clark, Business Insider
- 15th – , Entertainment Weekly
- 16th – Morgan Jeffery and Rosie Fletcher, Digital Spy
- 17th – Matt Miller, Esquire
- 21st – Ed Power, The Telegraph
- 23rd – Charles Bramesco, Vulture
IndieWire authors ranked the 22 Black Mirror instalments excluding Bandersnatch by quality, giving "Striking Vipers" a position of 14th. Instead of by quality, Proma Khosla of Mashable ranked the episodes by tone, concluding that "Striking Vipers" was the third-least pessimistic episode of the show.
奖项
"Striking Vipers" was nominated for three awards: an , a and a .
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| Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing — Episodic Long Form – Effects/Foley
| Steve Browell, Mathias Schuster, Barnaby Smyth
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| Annabel Jones, Charlie Brooker and Kate Glover
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