Spawn (1997) Reviews

• Just Like the Comic - For the Right and Wrong Reasons.

  GuyCC2000-06-11

  This film is just like the comic that inspired it: Great visuals (I still really like McFarlane's superhero art style), but much like the majority of "Spawn" stories, it really doesn't go anywhere. The set looks good, the characters look good, the cape looks REALLY good, but the story? Other than telling the origin and the standard "must stop the bad guy" motive, it doesn't do as much as it should. And yes, I know it's a Hell-based movie, but the metal soundtrack just got distracting and annoying, instead of enhancing the story like it should have. John Williams or Danny Elfman it wasn't. Need to see the film? It's a great visual ride. Just don't expect much more than that. It did make for some cool toys, though.

• Great for it's time

  Darth_Osmosis2018-06-10

  This is just really cool, plus I saw it first at a rather young age. The effects really are sometimes terrible and other times good or even very good for it's time, still features many cool action scenes and set pieces, a memorable anti-hero and the unforgettable character of the "Clown".

• A flawed but enjoyable absurdist horror-comic book film

  BrandtSponseller2005-01-25

  Al Simmons (Michael Jai White) is one of the top operatives for Jason Wynn (Martin Sheen), who is the head of an organization called A6. When Simmons becomes aware that A6 might be a little shady, he learns the hard way that he isn't allowed to quit A6. This leads to his transformation into Spawn, a superhero with a background and motivations that are just as morally ambiguous as A6. The film largely concerns Spawn discovering and exploring his new identity, while working to uncover a nefarious plot and attain revenge. If you read my reviews frequently enough over time, you'll notice that my ratings often change on repeated viewings. My rating for Spawn has definitely gone down since my last viewing, but currently, I'm giving it a generous 8 out of 10. There are a lot of things that are brilliant about the film, at least for viewers with particular, odd tastes similar to mine, but there are also too many unfortunate missteps to allow for a higher score. Let's look at the missteps first. The main problem with the film is that screenwriter Alan McElroy and writer/director Mark A.Z. Dippe tried to squeeze far too much plot and too many characters into a 90-minute film. In retrospect, it would have been better to make one film covering everything up to Spawn's transformation (or the beginning of the transformation), and then save the other material (which comprises the bulk of the story here) for later films. Maybe Todd McFarlane, who created the comic books upon which this film was based, was worried that he wouldn't receive funding for sequels, so a multi-film plan wasn't attractive. As it is, there have been no live action sequels to date (there have been animated versions of Spawn), but I think there may have been if the first film would have been handled differently. As the film stands, too much time has to be spent explaining the plot. The A6 plot is complicated enough, but there is a very high-concept idea behind the creation of Spawn that also has to be explained, too. Also, a lot of characters, most critically Cogliostro (Nicol Williamson--one of my favorite character actors), are basically wasted. There just isn't time to get into them. A further problem is that both Sheen and White use odd affectations in their speech. I suppose it's supposed to be over-the-top in a comic book way, but on this last viewing, at least, it was more distracting to me. Also, a lot of the cgi-heavy effects already look very dated, and there's a weird cheesiness to most of the scenes in Hell. On the other hand, I personally like that kind of weird cheesiness, so I didn't subtract any points for that. And speaking of weird cheesiness, I'm sure a lot of people hate John Leguizamo's character in the film (Clown/Violator), but I love it. It's exactly the kind of surreal campiness--part horror, part humor--that I cherish. As Mike Mayo has said, he's like (an evil) Krusty the Klown on acid. That works well for me, but if you're not the kind of person who loves films like Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988), you probably won't like this Killer Klown either. There is also a great campy quality to the material overall, including some of the dialogue (a scene where a father yells at a son in "Rat City" for spitting out a meal they retrieved from the garbage because it's "wasting good food" is a treasure). Spawn, the comic, is really a bizarre amalgamation of a number of different influences, from horror to twisted fairy tales, and the film is not afraid to indulge in that. The best part of the film, though, aside from Leguizamo's character, is Spawn as superhero. The costume and devices of the costume are fantastic, the cgi for the costume is excellent (I especially loved the cape), and White (as well as the stunt person(s)) does a great job physically. All of the action sequences involving Spawn were incredible. I wanted to see a lot more of that kind of material. In fact, the visual style of the film overall is admirably creative, all the way down to the opening and ending credits. In the end, the film teeters between being something that's "so bad, it's good" and being just a good film with some unfortunate flaws, but in either case, it's still very enjoyable to watch. You just need to approach it not expecting a realist dramatic masterpiece, but rather with a love for the absurd.

• Terrible Film, From a Comic That Is Perhaps Unadaptable

  CalvinValjean2007-03-05

  I'm not sure if the Spawn comics really can be adapted to a film medium. To sum it up: you have a murdered CIA hit-man who makes a deal with a devil, comes back as deformed creature with strange powers, and has to deal with a psychotic demon in clown form. Umm, yeah. Maybe Sam Raimi or Guillermo Del Toro could'be made such a film, but alas, they didn't, and the result is an inept production. I'll start with the good points; John Leguizamo is perfect as the Clown; both over the top and malevolent. And a few of the visual effects are impressive. And there were a few nods to the comics (Sam and Twitch making a cameo at the end). But that's about it. Here's every other problem: 1. Michael Jai White just sucks as the lead. He's terrible. His interpretation of Spawn is not particularly heroic, or anti-heroic, or likable, or has any character moments, but is just an angry guy yelling: "I'mma gonna kill Wynn! Arrgg!! These powers rock!" Gone are any of the philosophical underpinnings of the character. 2. Hell and the devil Malebolia - laughable, laughable. They could've at least animated the devil's mouth to move in sync with his voice. If this is hell, I just laugh at it. And for those who say "Hey, it was 1997; those were the visual effects of the time," I say look at Independence Day, Space Jam, and Titanic, all films made around the same time with superior effects. 3. Martin Sheen, whom we all know is a good actor, adds little to the Wynn character. He concocts an idiotic plot about inserting a bomb in his heart, so that no one will dare kill him. This plot line isn't in the comics, but even if it was it would still've been idiotic. Doctors are really going to insert a bomb in someone's heart and not think: "Gee, this guy's gonna die someday, so there's no question this bomb will go off and kill people someday?" 4. Child actor Miko Hughes shows up in a subplot, and has to look for Spawn's dog. WTF? It's like the producers realized "We should make this more family friendly by giving Spawn a kid sidekick," but then realized there really wasn't anything he could do, so they had him go look for a dog instead. 5. And after all this, we have a mess of a climax. Spawn fights off the Clown in Hell by transporting through the fireplace! And then we get the big cliché about ending with a shot of Spawn looking out on the city he will now protect. Please. An unsatisfying ending, due to zero character development or reason to care about any of the "saving" that Spawn did throughout the movie. But there is some good in the world: after all, I walked out of this knowing that if any demonic Clown comes after me, I sure can count on Spawn to decapitate him for me. And if my dog ever runs away, I can count on Miko Hughes to find him for me. And if I ever get confused during a movie, I can count on Nicol Williamson's tacked-on voice-over to provide exposition. And finally, if I ever go to hell, I know I can look forward to a place filled with cartoon characters. YEE HEE!

• Honestly.......

  yogirajj-958102018-07-16

  Honestly, I really don't understand why this movie has such a low rating. I theroughly enjoyed this movie. John Leguizamo was hilarious! In fact, I think Leguizamo and White and great acting chemistry. Lots of action, great special effects for it's time, and it had a perfect blend of dark comedy that not that many writers can pull off. Guys, lighten up, this has got to be my ultimate favorite Michael Jai White move.