Spawn is a 1997 superhero film based on the comic book of the same name by Todd McFarlane.
The story is about Al Simmons (Michael Jai White), a government agent who gets betrayed by his boss Jason Wynn (Martin Sheen) and was later murdered and burned to death. He was soon resurrected with supernatural powers by the gates of hell and soon must save his family from Wynn and the Violator (John Leguizamo), a creature who is under disguise as an overweight clown.
The film co-stars D.B. Sweeney, Nicol Williamson and Theresa Randle. While the movie did well at the box office, it was generally panned by critics and fans of the comic book alike. It also destroyed the careers of Mark A.Z. Dippe, who made his directorial debut with this and has gone on to direct made-for-TV movies for the Disney Channel, and Nicol Williamson (who played Spawn's mentor), who has stopped acting and never made any movie or TV appearances ever since.
Around the same time, "Spawn" was soon aired as an animated series on HBO and was much better received. All in all, what is your thoughts about the movie?
Posted by The Noms with no name... (Member # 2688) on :
Absolute garbage. Rated as my worst superhero movie of all time.
One of those films you wish you could unwatch.
Violated Noms Posted by Kash (Member # 297) on :
Cool movie, good soundtrack, brilliant blend of CGI and model work. Very good, dark storyline hampered somewhat by a bit of overacting and a few not-so-special effects (i.e. Malebolgia).
Michael Jai White was excellent as Spawn (the cape-escape shot on the building ledge is still one of the best SFX shots of all time IMO). John Leguizamo was a riot as Clown whilst we were all hoping Melinda Clarke would come back as Jessica Priest in the sequel that never was.
A good stab at the dark superhero at a time where large scale CGI was still in its infancy. Spawn was one of my favourite movies in 1997 and I still watch it every now and then.
Posted by Pyro (Member # 7658) on :
I don't think it's my least favorite..but it is pretty bad. In fact, the only real noteworthy thing about the movie I can recall is the Soundtrack. Well...The Marilyn Manson track "Long, Hard Road out of Hell" to be precise. Still like that song.
Maybe it was doomed to fail to me though because when I saw it, I had just finished watching a run of the Animated series. And almost any live action Super-Hero movie will fail when compared to their animated counterparts. That's a known fact.
So, to this day...The Spawn movie probably ranks in at #2 on my list of "Bad-@ss Super Hero movie Disappointments." #1 goes to "Ghost Rider."
Posted by Ducktalesfan81 (Member # 10446) on :
Terrible movie, not even the r-rated cut could save it. I was 16 when it came out and been a fan of the comics since i was 12 when i got the first issue, i watched the animated show on HBO all the time at 16 and loved it but this movie was a disgrace.
I hear Todd Mcfarlane is doing a reboot movie.
Posted by Jodio (Member # 10838) on :
I loved the animated show on HBO. I didn't care much for the movie.
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