Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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19 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Never Trust a Fat Clown, October 19, 2002
Todd McFarlane began the 'Spawn' comic series in 1992. The series went on to set records for comic sales. My own personal knowledge of 'Spawn' comes from the large number of imaginative action figures that appear on many toy and comic store shelves. I have bought and set up several, and I decided to see the film to get some insight into the story behind the figures.The film starts like a buzz saw. You are dumped right into the life of secret agent/assassin Al Simmons (Michael Jai White) as he destroys a planeload of people, realizes what he had done, and tries to leave the agency for whom he worked. Needless to say, his evil boss Jason Wynn (Martin Sheen) has no intention of letting him go. Wynn tricks Simmons into one 'last' assignment. It's a setup, and Simmons is toasted for real. Suddenly (everything is sudden in this film) it is five years later. Simmons pops back into existence, looking like the aftermath of a nuclear explosion, with a severe memory shortage. A really gross clown (John Leguizamo) keeps trying to be his buddy, his best friend has married his girlfriend, and the only thing that remembers him is his dog - Spaz (I don't know who played the dog). This is a situation that can only get worse, and sure enough, that's what it does. The basic plot turns on Simmons' (now called Spawn) moral progress. Hell has been tempting souls all over the world in order to create an army of badness. Now they want Spawn to be the general of that army and lead the last apocalyptic attack on heaven. In order to qualify, that have to play on Spawn's anger and thirst for vengeance until he does something so bad that he loses all his humanity. Of course, this involves killing most of the people in the world. Cogliostro (Nicol Williamson) plays the good guy, trying to help Spawn keep his humanity. My immediate problem with 'Spawn' was that it was not 'Blade.' It took me the first 15 minutes of the film to get over that. I think this was really a matter of seeing 'Blade' just before viewing 'Spawn.' Once I was able to get into the movie a bit, I found that my original reaction was overkill. Even so, most of the script is people morphing into things that kill and then smashing other people into smithereens. Yes, there is a plot, but its primary purpose is to provide an excuse for a steady procession of outrageous (but bloodless) violence. Exactly how it managed to hold on to a PG-13 rating is beyond me. 'Blade' had an element of style that is simply lacking in 'Spawn.' The cast consists of many skilled and experienced players (Martin Sheen's film credits are probably longer than the script). Unfortunately, the pace is so intense that the only character you get to know well is that godforsaken clown, and you will really wish that you hadn't. Most of the other characters are limited to parts that are heavily typecast. Despite this, 'Spawn' is almost a very good film. Many of the special effects are great, and there certainly isn't anything wrong with a lot of fast-paced action. However, the story never completely gripped me, and the film work is a bit too claustrophobic. Still, it's worth seeing if you get a chance.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
I want to violate the little girlie-man who directed this, September 29, 2003
Oh dear. Spawn certainly falls short of everything that made the comic such a big hit. The action sequences are good, yes, but who cares? It's all show and no substance. More could have been done to: show the effect Spawn has on those around him; show his inner conflict, the 'whatever he does is bad' theme present in the comics; make Cogliostro less an interfering Yoda-figure and more of a mentor, the only one who gives a rat's ass about Spawn; make Malebolgia more convincing, and fix the Hell scenes; cut out the random elements which spoil it, such as the Clown's face on the spade, the way the Violator turns into a bookshelf and back again, the way Spawn's cape never seems to know whether it's coming or going.
It was a good idea, the opening sequence is fantastic. The hell vortex? Then the example of Simmons in action? Excellent. You know he's a good guy straight away. But a crap script, horrendous miscasting of Leguizamo as Clown, and a dumbing down of the major themes turned this potential blockbuster into a B-movie nightmare.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A Guy From Hell Doesn't Deserve PG-13, August 15, 2002
By A Customer
Spawn is my favorite super hero of all time. This movie is not the comic book. All they did was take the title, the concept, the characters and made a super hero disaster. The comic book starts off him already established and trying to cope with his existence. This movie is nothing but plain, boring ... about this assassin coming back from the dead, already knowing his mission and planning to do it. In the comic book, Spawn had to find his way into discovering his past and discovering his mission on Earth. It would be great if they had that and they showed his journey into discovery and at the end, going after Jason Wynn. The Clown in the movie (took) the whole thing. He is the reason why I give this a *** stars. But still, it's a disappointed.Besides the story and the adapting from the comic book that disappionted me was the cast. Who the hell is this Michael Jai White guy. No body knows who he is and he ... . He looks like a black pretty-boy. Spawn in the comic book was a rough and tough assassin. Michael "whatever" Jai White is not tough. Wesley Snipes would've been a great pick for the role of Al Simmons and he definately has the attitude and physique for the character. What also disappointed me was this Wanda girl. Whoever played Wanda, Al's former wife, is ugly, a terrible actress and is a terrible pick. Halle Berry would've been a great pick for Wanda or Vanessa Williams. And what's up with this PG-13 ... . People, where's the R-rating!?! The cartoon is the best Spawn I've ever seen but this PG-13 is terrible. The movie should've followed the cartoon's footsteps: bad language (this is a guy from hell, I'd be cursing my way out of town if I just died and resurrected from hell), violence (they should've shown his anger against Wynn with violence against evil), and nudity (if this movie involves hell, we need rated R and since we got Wanda in the picture, we got to show something nice). I just hope that in the near future, in a couple of years, Hollywood will decide to make another movie of "Spawn" and strip this piece of ... off the shelves of every video store. If you just want to see a movie with good special effects and funny jokes, go RENT this movie. But if you want to see a good super hero movie, go see Spider-Man or Blade (Blade 2 is better) or something because this is a disgrace to the comic book. I feel so bad for Todd McFarlane.
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