Spawn (1997 film)

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Spawn
This movie deserves to be in Hell more than Al Simmons does, but it's an okay movie, and you're better off watching the animated series.
Genre: Action Drama Horror Directed by: Mark A.Z. Dippé Produced by: Clint Goldman Written by: Alan B. McElroy Mark A.Z. Dippé Starring: John Leguizamo Michael Jai White Martin Sheen Theresa Randle Nicol Williamson D. B. Sweeney Cinematography: Guillermo Navarro Distributed by: New Line Cinema Todd McFarlane Entertainment Release date: August 1, 1997 Runtime: 96 minutes Country: United States Language: English Budget: $40–45 million Box office: $87.9 million

Spawn is a 1997 American dark fantasy superhero film based on the comic book character of the same name, written by Todd McFarlane and published by Image Comics. Directed and co-written by Mark A.Z. Dippé, the film stars Michael Jai White in the title role and is one of the first films to feature an African American portraying a major comic book superhero.

Spawn was released in the United States on August 1, 1997, it received negative reviews from critics with a 17% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes and mixed-to-negative reviews from audiences with a 36% audience score, but was also met with mixed reception from fans of the comics.

Plot

An assassin named Al Simmons (White) is double-crossed and murdered by his evil boss Jason Wynn (Sheen). Al makes a deal with Malebolgia/the devil (Welker) and returns to earth as Spawn to see his wife. He is ordered by the devil's minion, The Clown (Leguizamo), to kill Wynn. Wynn has made a deal with The Clown too and is suppose to destroy the world with a deadly virus that will help start Armageddon and allow Hell to attack Heaven. Spawn must choose between Good & Evil.

Bad Qualities

1. Very, very dreadful computer animation and effects:
   • In one scene you can clearly see that the green glow effect got chopped.
   • The Hell sequence, not only because of its location and layout, but also the fact that Malebolgia's mouth movements don’t match with anything that he says.
   • Speaking of which, Malebolgia's design is laughably horrendous and could give the models in Joshua and the Promised Land a run for their money. Heck, even the Lord of Darkness from Legend (which was released 12 years ago) has a better, more convincing villain design than that!
2. Poor acting, especially from John Leguizamo as The Clown/Violator.
3. Childish and disturbing scenes like when The Clown dresses up as a cheerleader and dances.
4. Very confusing and messed up story.
5. Non-existent logic. In one scene Malebolgia says to Simmons in Hell that "If you fail me... you will die". Never mind the fact that he already died!

Good Qualities

1. The characters look accurate to their comic book designs, and even the film has the R-rated director's cut that has additional scenes not in the theatrical cut.
2. Leguizamo as Violator, despite how bad his acting is, can be hilarious to watch if you’re not taking the film seriously, save for the infamous cheerleader scene.
3. Jessica Priest became a comic character, thanks to the movie.
4. Decent quotes:
   • "Where you're going, every day's Halloween!"
   • "You have been violated, little girly man!!!"

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