Spawn

* (1 out of 5) Spawn

Directed by : Mark A.Z. Dippé, 1997

Cult comic book comes to the screen looking like a bad computer game. Lacklustre story, illogically put together, some really awful editing and dialogue and finally the Tron-looking computer generated special effects (as in Tron from 1982, yes).

Joe Leguizamo is wickedly funny as spooky Stephen Kingish clown and the only highlight.

There are moments in Spawn that stand out with exceptional creativity, but what truly stands out about the movie is just how much of a mess it is.

The screenplay is a wreck, the acting is stiff and unconvincing, and the whole thing seems to fly by so fast, that we don't get a chance to experience much other than a look at some nifty visuals. In fairness, I suppose it is easy enough to argue that Spawn delivers its share of action sequences for a ninety minute movie, but perhaps it needs to back down a bit. It needs more story. In the end, Spawn feels like nothing more or less than an exercise in CGI and make-up effects.

It is pretty difficult to get involved with the story, in part because it makes no sense, but mostly because we simply do not care. The character of Al Simmons is about as cheap and plastic as the armour he suits up in during the second half of the feature. Quite frankly I don't find him all that likable. He is cold and nasty, even as a superhero. I really hate it when the good guys talk like the bad guys; when they cackle or make snarly remarks, like Dr. Westlake in the Darkman series.

Some of the special effects work, some don't. Our hero has a blood red cape which can expand to the size of Texas (don't ask me how). I liked that effect. The thing sort of has a computer generated life of its own, and its elegance clashes with the plastic of Spawn's armour. the primary villain is a clown from hell, who can turn into a ten foot armour plated beast which looks a bit like a cousin of the Queen from Aliens. That is another good effect. The climax takes us deep into the fiery pit of hell, which unfortunately does NOT so convincing. My screen saver is a more intimidating computer generated image. I was reminded a bit of the Brinstar level from Super Smash Brothers.

Like so many films do, Spawn ends on a note that just cries out for a sequel. Needless to say, there isn't one and there never will be. Spawn is entertaining in parts, but definitely not as a whole.

You can easily tell that comic book based movies were not a popular demand back in the '90s. Spawn is a result of a sloppy adaptation from a source material which is really difficult to rightfully adapt, special effects that were expensive and got dated after two years and a production company that didn't seem to have taken the making of this movie seriously. So logically it feels like a really poor effort, yet it has its moments.

Great casting choice in Michael Jai White, he proved himself worthy of portraying a broken man looking for revenge and a chance to see his family again. Action sequences are actually quite tolerable, and dark humour mostly provided by John Leguizamo's character (in a funny/disturbing performance) was done to a right amount, enough to add a bit of edge to the story and not much to harm the film, a trend you see nowadays in comic book films, too much unnecessary humour.

The special effects are cringe-worthy at best, which don't really appeal visually other than the cape and Spawn's overall look. So, there aren't many reasons to watch this film, well perhaps the hope that a new Spawn adaptation won't be as bad as this one. Even though I know it's bad, I still got a kick out of it, hence my 6 rating.

Oh, if you expect to see a good performance from Martin Sheen, you can forget about it, he's atrocious in this. All I want to do is forget he was in this movie.

Everyone seems to agree that the original Spawn comic is excellent material for a pointless, violent, stupid and thoroughly amusing movie. This movie, however....It isn't all that violent (if you compare it to the comic book), but it is stupid and utterly pointless. Amusing? It could have been if they had inserted a prolonged torture scene of John Leguizamos Clown character: one of the most un-funny, irritating and tacky "comic relief" characters ever to have (dis)graced the screen. Move over Chris Tucker and Pauly Shore - we have a new candidate for overrated quasi-comedian of the decade. The special effects were kind of confusing - half of them were excellent and half of them looked like beautified Sesame Street animations (the demon "thing" of hell, for example, which had me crying with laughter). Let's hope for the next Spawn movie they take a few chances and make a grittier downbeat tale with more in common with the original comic and not like the muppet show from hell.

There was a time when comic books were not celebrated. When only the disenfranchised cared or knew about them instead of the mainstream. And in those ancient times — let's call them 1992 — no news was bigger than when Marvel's biggest creators left en masse to form Image Comics. At the time, these artists were derided as style over substance. Many of them weren't known for hitting their deadlines. Or even how to draw feet properly. But one of them — Todd McFarlane — took the opportunities that his new home presented and made the most of them, creating his signature character: Spawn.

Spawn is everything that McFarlane loved to draw: a muscular hero covered in spandex, chains and a cape that seems to be way longer than it should be. It was an instant hit, giving birth to a toyline, an HBO animated series (which still holds up) and finally, this movie.

Al Simmons (Michael Jai White, playing one of the first African-American superhero to be a movie lead, as this movie and Shaw's Steel came out at the same time) is a black ops soldier assigned to a mission to investigate a North Korean biochemical weapons site. But he's been set up by his boss, Jason Wynn (Martin Sheen) and is killed by Jessica Priest, Wynn's new top assassin. After being set on fire, he winds up in Hell, where Malebolgia offers him a deal. If Simmons will lead his armies to Heaven's gate, he can see his true love, Wanda, one more time.

You know how those deals with demons work. They're rarely fair. When he returns to Earth, Simmons learns that Wanda is now married to his best friend Terry(D.B. Sweeney, Fire in the Sky, The Cutting Edge), who is raising his daughter, Cyan.

Malebolgia sends one of his demons, Violator (John Leguizamo), to mentor Simmons. But there's also Cogliostro (Nicol Williamson, The Exorcist III), who also sold his soul to become a Hellspawn but who has found his way to Heaven.

Meanwhile, Simmons becomes Spawn and attacks Wynn, now a powerful arms dealer. He easily defeats his killer, Jessica, and escapes an attack by an army of mercenaries thanks to his new powers.

Violator — who either appears as a clown or an Alien-esque demon — gets Wynn to add a device to his heart that will release Heat 16, a biochemical superweapon, if he dies. Malebolgia wants Simmons to kill Wynn and start the end of the world. But Violator has his own agenda and nearly kills our hero before Cagliostro saves him. As he learns how to use his powers just as he also learns that Wynn plans on killing everyone he loves.

What follows is a battle on our earth and in Hell, where Spawn denies his contract with the Devil, bests Violator and returns to our reality, ready for the sequel which never came.

Spawn is very of its time, a film packed with early CGI (nearly half of its effects were unfinished until two weeks before it was released) and a soundtrack that mixes techno with hard rock and metal (the Atari Teenage Riot/Slayer mashup "No Remorse" is a highlight). It's a decent enough film but is a sanitized version of the chaos inside every panel of the Spawn comic. It just feels like something is missing. There's no real heart in the film, nor any real threat to our hero.

After years of talk of a sequel, McFarlane announced a new Spawn adaptation in 2015, with the goal of the creator writing the script and directing. In July of this year, it was confirmed that this was true, with the film being produced by Blumhouse. Here's hoping for something great.

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