《西遊記》被定位為神魔小說，《西遊‧降魔篇》影片回應於「妖魔」主題，以「降魔」為核心要旨的演繹。有妖魔的出現，有驅魔人的降妖除魔。而如何降魔的方式，影片思路提出，以「技／情」二個不同的路向。1.「技」層面：代表「斬妖除魔」方式，以力量的爭戰，打敗制伏或殺滅除盡，為「一刀殺式」作法。2.「情」層面，以「情」作為「成魔」和「成佛」的中介。妖魔不是天生都是妖魔，也曾經良善有情有愛；而如何能成佛的路徑，影片提出以情愛為基礎的萃鍊提昇。就「小情小愛／大情大愛」關係，於「降魔」-「情」-「成佛」這樣的思路作推演詮釋。於「立地成佛」可以「降魔」嗎？就「經」概念的演譯，從「經」所推展「佛經」--「佛法」--「佛」--「佛力」的相關延伸，就「取經」之路，降魔之路，在影片這二個路徑上：斬妖除魔的一刀殺式，爭戰的不可避免；或者以「情」作為「成魔」與「成佛」的中介，取經道上的鍊魔之路，可以成為互相的渡化，可以是協同的夥伴關係。本文從影片內容及原作小說這二個層面，使互相參照對應，探討當代文藝對於傳統經典鉅作，所把握有何傳承精義而也可以有如何新面貌的展開。 Journey to the West is defined as gods and demons fiction, and the movie Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons centers on conquering demons and further interprets this concept in response to its topic of demons. Therefore, demons and demon hunters are all presented in the movie. From the line of thoughts of the movie, the approaches of conquering demons involve two aspects: (1) Technique: The technique to exorcise and kill the demons implies that demon hunters conquer or kill demons through strength, which is a “one-hit kill” technique; and (2) Affection: Affection serves as the medium between becoming a demon and becoming a Buddha. Demons are not born demons; they used to have love and affections. The movie proposed that the path to becoming a Buddha is to go through the hardship and grow based on love and affection. The movie interprets the relationship between "little love" and "great love" along the line of thought that affection serves as the medium between conquering demons and becoming a Buddha. Attempting to answer the question of whether it is possible to conquer demons at the moment that a person becomes a Buddha, the movie interprets the concept of scriptures and extends it to sutra, dharma, Buddha, and divine power, according to which two approaches are developed for obtaining sutras and conquering demons. One is the "one-hit kill" technique for conquering demons, which implies the inevitability of fights and wars. The other one is the affection that serves as the medium between becoming a demon and becoming a Buddha. The exorcism of demons along the journey to obtain sutras can be the salvation and enlightenment to transform demons into partners. This study compares this movie with the original novel Journey to the West to investigate how contemporary artwork inherits the essence of a classic masterpiece and gives the classic a new representation.
