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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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