From /home/matoh/tmp/sf-rev Fri Aug 22 16:45:56 1997 From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Aug 18 15:23:31 1997 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!newsfeed.sunet.se!news99.sunet.se!news00.sunet.se!sunic!mn6.swip.net!nntp.uio.no!nntp.se.dataphone.net!zdc-e!super.zippo.com!lotsanews.com!feed1.news.erols.com!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!newsfeed.direct.ca!news-sea-19.sprintlink.net!news-in-west.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!Sprint!131.103.1.114!chi-news.cic.net!204.71.1.61!news-out.internetmci.com!worldnet.att.net!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: Michael Dequina Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: Spawn Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 1 Aug 1997 16:30:11 GMT Organization: None Lines: 102 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <5rt2uj$7tc@nntp5.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer32.u.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #08414 Keywords: author=dequina X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer32.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:7805 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1462 Spawn (PG-13) ** (out of ****) Todd McFarlane's comic book sensation Spawn is prime fodder for a big-budget Hollywood movie treatment--there's a extravagantly costumed, supernaturally powered, sometimes homicidal hero, resurrected from the dead, whose primary enemy is none other than the devil himself. After years of topping comic sales charts, Spawn has indeed arrived to conquer the movie arena, but something is seriously lacking; for all its visual razzle dazzle, Mark Dippe's film is a mess--a misguided attempt to sanitize a concept whose most distinctive trait is its darkness. To Dippe and scripter Alan McElroy's credit, McFarlane's basic conceit remains intact: Spawn (Michael Jai White) was originally murdered government agent Al Simmons (Michael Jai White) who makes a pact with the devil to see beloved wife Wanda (Theresa Randle) one more time. In return, however, he must use his newfound supernatural powers to lead Hell's Army in its quest to destroy Heaven and Earth. Prodding Spawn into serving holding up his end of the bargain is the Clown (John Leguizamo, having a ball in a fat suit and heavy makeup), whose short, rotund exterior hides his true, horrific self as the demonic Violator; urging him to rebel against the dark side is Cogliostro (Nicol Williamson), a mysterious figure from the distant past. The above is a fairly accurate distillation of comic's basics, but the Spawn faithful know there is something deeper and richer behind the plot fundamentals--an overwhelming sense of despair and anguish. Spawn has a great costume, some nifty powers, and a killer instinct, but the key to the character is his emotional torment. Al's passionate love for Wanda is what drives him and also what cripples him. Merely seeing her is not enough, and being with her is an impossibility--not only because he's a severely burned undead hellspawn but because she has gone on with her life. Adding to his angst is the fact that in the five years that have passed between his death and rebirth, Wanda is remarried with a daughter, Cyan (Sydni Beaudoin), and her new husband is none other than Al's best friend, Terry Fitzgerald (D.B. Sweeney, putting a Caucasian face on a what is originally an African-American character). For reasons only known to him, the intense emotional content that McElroy successfully incorporated into the Spawn HBO animated series (which, I may add, is a much more satisfying translation) is all but completely absent in his script for the film. The only hints at Spawn's torment are a couple of anguished cries of "Wanda," and the rest of the time--which is nearly all of the time--he's merely angry and vengeful, no different from some heroes in any number of generic action films. The dilution of the emotion--and, in McElroy's most offensive move, having the normally brooding Spawn utter a couple of lame _one-liners_--are obvious attempts to make the character fit a more traditional mold and hence win an audience-friendly PG-13 rating. But this decision makes no sense, since it's Spawn's untraditional, dark, R-rated nature that made him so interesting to begin with. Dippe, making his feature directorial debut, is a seasoned special effects creator, so it should come as no surprise that Spawn is most impressive and imaginative--and most faithful--in the visual arena. The jarring opening credits, complete with shaky, distorted lettering and nearly subliminal glimpses of images, is highly reminiscent of Se7en's unsettling main titles (which is a good thing). The creative transitions between scenes, such as having flames and capes wipe across the frame, effectively recall the visual style of the comic, as do the characters' appearances. The Clown and his demonic alter ego, the Violator, are every bit as repellent in three-dimensions as they are on the page (even if, as part of the PG-13 compromise, he does not perform any of his trademark heart extractions), and Spawn is blessed with a wonderfully fluid, computer-generated cape, which, unfortunately, only materializes from time to time. McFarlane has said that the cape's sporadic appearance in the film (Spawn has his cape at all times in the comic and animated series) was a conscious decision, so Spawn would look less "superhero-y." Ironically, though, he looks more conventional without it. The true marvel is Dippe and visual effects supervisor Steve "Spaz" Williams's vision of hell, a stunningly organic blend of flame and rock--a true technical achievement. But that's the problem with Dippe's direction as a whole--it's _too_ technical. Attention was paid to the visuals and little else. The story, involving a biological weapon developed by Jason Wynn (Martin Sheen, all clenched teeth), the shady government agent responsible for Al's death, is weak and doesn't make complete sense; even the action scenes are clumsily handled, especially the climactic battle in hell, where the heavy editing makes the action hard to follow. But worst of all, there's no passion--no real connection to the characters (no fault to White or the other actors, who aren't really given much to work with in the script), no sense of urgency to the tale. The film is a feast for the eyes, yes, but there's none of the soul that gives the comic its power. In its comic and animated form, Spawn pushes the creative envelope; in this live-action, big-screen incarnation, Spawn plays it safe--much too safe; so safe that I'm certain people being introduced to Spawn with this movie will wonder just what all the fuss is about. At a recent comic book convention, producer Clint Goldman said with much confidence and certainty, "There _will_ be a sequel." Here's hoping that next time around the filmmakers will take a lesson from its hero in the comic and go for the kill. __________________________________________________________ Michael Dequina mrbrown@ucla.edu | mj23@the18thhole.com mrbrown23@juno.com | mrbrown@iname.com | mst3k@digicron.com mj-23@geocities.com | michael_jordan@geocities.com Visit Mr. Brown's Movie Site at http://members.tripod.com/~MrBrown/ Personal Page: http://members.tripod.com/~MrBrown/home.html Michael Jordan Sites: http://members.tripod.com/~mj23/mj.html & http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Field/2302/ "I've failed over and over and over again in my life... and that is why I succeed." --Michael Jordan __________________________________________________________ From /home/matoh/tmp/sf-rev Fri Aug 22 16:46:02 1997 From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Aug 18 15:23:32 1997 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!newsfeed.sunet.se!news99.sunet.se!news00.sunet.se!sunic!mn6.swip.net!nntp.uio.no!nntp.se.dataphone.net!zdc-e!super.zippo.com!lotsanews.com!feed1.news.erols.com!news-peer.sprintlink.net!news-sea-19.sprintlink.net!news-in-west.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!Sprint!131.103.1.114!chi-news.cic.net!204.71.1.61!news-out.internetmci.com!worldnet.att.net!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: Scott Renshaw Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: Spawn (1997) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 1 Aug 1997 16:29:57 GMT Organization: None Lines: 91 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <5rt2u5$7t8@nntp5.u.washington.edu> ~Reply-To: Scott Renshaw NNTP-Posting-Host: homer32.u.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #08412 Keywords: author=renshaw X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer32.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:7806 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1463 SPAWN (New Line) Starring: John Leguizamo, Michael Jai White, Martin Sheen, Theresa Randle. Screenplay: Alan McElroy, based on the comic book by Todd McFarlane. Producer: Clint Goldman. Director: Mark A. Z. Dippe'. MPAA Rating: PG-13 (violence, profanity, adult humor) Running Time: 97 minutes Reviewed by Scott Renshaw. Once upon a time, many years ago when the earth was still young, I read comic books. In fact, I read them quite avidly. I attended comic book conventions, kept my collection in acid-free boxes and bought the Overstreet Price Guide every year. I remember the fervor with which comic book fans defend their favorite characters, and the excitement generated by the first film appearance of a character. My first encounter with this phenomenon from the other side of the philosophical fence came when I dared to give only fleeting praise to 1994's THE CROW. From the reactions of the film's fans, you would think not only that I had challenged the film's artistic merit, but also that I had performed an excretory act on Brandon Lee's grave. The idea for the story, I felt, was intriguing, the execution merely competent. And the wrath it raineth down. Now I steel myself once again, because folks, SPAWN ain't even _that_ good. Anyone familiar with THE CROW is going to experience a bit of conceptual deja vu with SPAWN. The hero, in this case a government agent named Al Simmons (Michael Jai White), is murdered, in this case by his megalomaniacal boss Jason Wynn (Martin Sheen). The hero returns to earth, compelled by a desire to reunite with his beloved (Theresa Randle), and finds himself endowed with supernatural powers to assist in the wreaking of his vengeance, powers in this case provided by the devil in exchange for Simmons -- now Spawn -- leading the Army of Darkness to the Apocalypse. A goading little demon called Clown (John Leguizamo) is around to make sure Spawn keeps his end of the bargain; a benevolent eternal warrior named Cagliostro (Nicol Williamson) acts as the little angel on the other shoulder. At its best, SPAWN does provide some genuinely eye-catching visual effects for its titular character. Spawn's body armor is perfectly rendered, sprouting all manner of computer-generated weaponry and a billowing red cape as necessity demands. Leguizamo also provides entertainment value by tossing off crude gags between bouts of flatulence. At its worst, SPAWN provides the kind of horrid acting often excused in genre films with the description "campy," with half the cast (White, Sheen, Leguizamo) doing gutteral line readings (because the Forces of Evil always talk like Mercedes McCambridge in "The Exorcist") and the other half (Randle, Williamson, D. B. Sweeney) standing around looking befuddled. It also offers a decidedly Sony Play Station vision of hell, and a script which doesn't bother to give the main character a life before it gives him an afterlife. Most of the time, however, SPAWN is neither at its best nor at its worst. It is merely redundant, a now-familiar plot of gloom-soaked heroism decked out with the expected trappings of perpetually rainy alleys, Gothic spires and a couple of explosions. I'm not familiar enough with the time line of recent comics to know whether "The Crow" pre-dated "Spawn" in comic book form, but it doesn't really matter. Viewers of SPAWN may find a few new and improved special effects, but everything else is re-used and recycled; even Leguizamo's performance as Clown seems like a slightly more scatalogical spin on Nicholson's Joker. Comic books may have picked up a certain improbable cachet when they started referring to themselves as "graphic novels," but that attitude has merely resulted in a different kind of creative rut. It's like graphic grunge rock, where an energetic and invigorating first wave has given way to endless imitators who can't seem to lighten up and stop whining. Even when screenwriter Alan McElroy tries to temper the angst with glib quips, the result is something strictly for fans of the new and improved special effects. Or, perhaps, for die-hard SPAWN fans who may be preparing an effigy of yours truly even as we speak. On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 hell raisers: 4. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit Scott Renshaw's MoviePage http://www.inconnect.com/~renshaw *** Subscribe to receive new reviews directly by email! See the MoviePage for details, or reply to this message with subject line "Subscribe". -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From /home/matoh/tmp/sf-rev Fri Aug 22 16:46:04 1997 From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Aug 18 15:23:34 1997 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lejonet.se!newsfeed1.telia.com!masternews.telia.net!news-out.internetmci.com!worldnet.att.net!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: James Berardinelli Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: Spawn (1997) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 1 Aug 1997 16:30:54 GMT Organization: University of Washington Lines: 111 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <5rt2vu$7tt@nntp5.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer32.u.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #08419 Keywords: author=berardinelli X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer32.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:7827 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1467 SPAWN A Film Review by James Berardinelli RATING (0 TO 10): 5.5 Alternative Scale: ** out of **** United States, 1997 U.S. Release Date: 8/1/97 (wide) Running Length: 1:35 MPAA Classification: PG-13 (Violence) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Cast: Michael Jai White, John Leguizamo, Martin Sheen, Nicol Williamson, D. B. Sweeney, Theresa Randle, Melinda Clarke Director: Mark A.Z. Dippe Producer: Clint Goldman Screenplay: Alan McElroy based on the comic book by Todd McFarlane Cinematography: Guillermo Navarro Music: Graeme Revell U.S. Distributor: New Line Cinema Anyone going to SPAWN who is unaware of the film's origins will quickly determine that this is the descendent of a comic book. In addition to focusing on the exploits of a superhero (albeit an atypical one), SPAWN possesses the distinctive style and visual flair of a comic book-turned-motion picture (see THE CROW, BATMAN, and DARKMAN for other recent examples). Unfortunately, where the movie falls apart is in the storyline. While SPAWN fans may be delighted by this effort, the uninitiated may have a hard time getting beyond the fancy special effects and often-incoherent plot. In a very palpable way, SPAWN is much like another of this summer's big budget releases, THE FIFTH ELEMENT. Both movies belong in the "style over substance" category, both present interesting visual packages, and both are less than satisfying. To succeed as a major motion picture, SPAWN has to appeal to those who do not regularly plunk down $2 for the comic book; this motion picture is a poor step in that direction. SPAWN's underlying premise is, at its most basic, a twist on Faust. Heaven and Hell are at war, and Satan is about to launch his latest campaign against the Pearly Gates. To accomplish this, he intends to let loose his army of warriors on Earth to destroy the human race. While God and the Devil remain in their respective headquarters to watch the battle unfold, each sends a general to the front lines. For the forces of darkness, it's a twisted gnome named Clown (John Leguizamo), and, for the other side, it's the distinguished knight Cogliostro (Nicol Williamson). As outlandish as this background may sound, it wouldn't be that hard to accept if it fueled a strong story. Unfortunately, SPAWN's plot isn't especially interesting or engrossing. The film, helmed by first- time director and former ILM veteran Mark Dippe, gets bogged down by digital effects, many of which appear a little too artificial. These are the kinds of shots that look great on a computer screen, but aren't nearly as impressive in a movie theater (compare them to the fine work at the beginning of CONTACT). In the end, a great deal more effort seems to have been put into the look of the film than into the story. Al Simmons (Michael Jai White) is a paid assassin, but when he begins to question his role in the corrupt business run by mogul Jason Wynn (Martin Sheen), his boss orders him killed. Five years later, Al returns to Earth, literally a changed man, having made a deal with the Devil. In exchange for an opportunity to once again gaze upon his beloved wife, Wanda (Theresa Randle), Al has agreed to become a creature named Spawn, and lead Hell's Army in the upcoming war. But, before Spawn can begin his appointed task, Cogliostro finds him and stirs up the good that lies locked within his armor-encased body. From that point on, SPAWN becomes as much about the war for control of Al's soul as about the external battle between good and evil. As disappointing as SPAWN will be to anyone expecting a strong story, there are a few things to like about the film. First and foremost, the kinetic style disallows the possibility of boredom. Then there's John Leguizamo's delightfully off the wall rendering of the wisecracking Clown, who looks and acts like a cross between Jim Carrey's Riddler and Jabba the Hut. On the acting front, however, Leguizamo is the only standout. Michael Jai White's performance as the lead character is hampered by his mask, makeup, and costume. Martin Sheen, Theresa Randle, and D.B. Sweeney (as Al's best friend) are merely adequate in stock roles. SPAWN's chief attraction is the moral ambiguity of the main character (the spawn of Hell fighting for humanity against the minions of his former master), which, according to New Line Cinema, lends Shakespearean overtones to the film (yeah, right). What the studio fails to recognize, however, is that this sort of "dark hero" approach is nothing new. DARKMAN and THE CROW have already explored it in some detail, while movies like BATMAN and THE SHADOW have embraced certain aspects of it . In fact, an analysis of SPAWN reveals that this production is basically an amalgamation of scenes, setups, characters, and situations from other, often better motion pictures. Essentially, SPAWN does for comic books what STARGATE did for science fiction: it borrows liberally (or steals, depending on your perspective). What works on the printed page does not necessarily translate well to the screen. As a comic book, SPAWN may be first rate, but, as a movie, it's a retread. Copyright 1997 James Berardinelli - James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@mail.cybernex.net ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin "A film is a petrified fountain of thought." - Jean Cocteau From /home/matoh/tmp/sf-rev Fri Aug 22 16:46:06 1997 From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Aug 18 15:23:35 1997 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lejonet.se!newsfeed1.telia.com!masternews.telia.net!newssrv.ita.tip.net!ubnnews.unisource.ch!News.Amsterdam.UnisourceCS!newsfeed.mad.ibernet.es!uunet!in3.uu.net!208.195.156.10!ns1.walltech.com!vncnews!HSNX!newsfeed.direct.ca!infeed1.internetmci.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!netnews.nwnet.net!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: jeff@pixar.com (Jeff Pidgeon) Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: Spawn (1997) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 4 Aug 1997 16:58:35 GMT Organization: Pixar Animation Studios Lines: 78 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Distribution: world Message-ID: <5s51nr$456@nntp5.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer32.u.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #08447 Keywords: author=pidgeon X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer32.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:7898 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1478 WHAT WAS I THINKING? A review of "Spawn" I like comic books, and occasionally that causes problems. The prob- lem these days is that the affection leads me to see movies that most people can see coming for miles. They hide in concrete bunkers until the danger has pass- ed, and see films that are more worthwhile. How can you say that, you say. There's plenty of movies out there, and there's probably plenty that are an equivalent theft of two hours. All I can say is, well, maybe. "Spawn" starts out as a low-grade blend of "Darkman" and "The Crow", and goes downhill rapidly from that modest goal. I've rarely seen a movie with as much exposition as "Spawn" has, and yet almost NOTHING makes any sense. "Spawn" seems to be the story of Al Simmonds, some sort of hired gun working for some sort of CIA variant. The group assassinates political enemies of the U.S. in elaborate, supposedly covert ways that require a lot of special ef- fects. Well, Al being the Caring Family Guy that he is, can't take his job any more, and wants out. No way, says group leader Jason (Martin Sheen, sadly), well, all right -- as long as you do this One Last Job for us. Well, all right, says Al, and being the Good Team Member that he is, goes out to blow up a chemical weapons plant with agent Priest (Mindy Clarke, who is costumed dif- ferently than everyone else in the film) smirking portenteously in the back- ground. Of course, it's a double cross, and Jason blows up the plant with Al still in it (though he and Priest are there too, so I don't know how they es- caped meeting the same fate). Al dies, and is sent to some place that I still don't understand -- a set that's clearly been lifted from "Blade Runner" -- that isn't Hell, or Earth, either. Here he meets Count Cogliostro (Nicol Will- iamson, even more sadly) and The Violator (John Leguizamo), his Hellmates who attempt to fill us in on why all this is happening. Seems that the Violator is playing both Al/now Spawn and Jason for suckers -- he's trying to wipe out ev- eryone on Earth using greedy Jason's plans for power through his chemical weapon devices, and enlist Al/Spawn (using Al's devotion to his wife as lev- erage) to lead his army of the newly-dead to storm the pearly gates once the Earth is destroyed. Of course, the Violator is the right hand man for ol' Scratch himself, so this is a Conflict of Epic Proportions Between Good and Evil. Spawn is given a CG glop suit that can do lots of cool things, but it's never clear what the limits of it are, and the Count doesn't even get around to telling him (or us) about it 'til well past the halfway mark. Most of the first half is flashbacks, and that gets redundant fast. The middle is Spawn coming to terms with his angst, and learning a little about what's going on -- he has a run-in with Jason and Priest, who despite being set up a some sort of awesome assassin, is dispatched by Spawn in his first appear- ance almost immediately. She doesn't come back as an undead superhero, like Al. She's just dead. Of course, to say that "Spawn" is target marketed as a "guy thing" is something of an understatement. The rest of the film deals with him rebelling against his manipulators. If there is a message to "Spawn", it might be that we all are in control of our destinies, which isn't bad, but the amount of violence required to present it renders it somewhat ineffective. The Violator can turn into some sort of monster that intially seems pretty threatening, but winds up getting dispatched (after much frenetic editing) by getting its head chopped off. Well, not really -- it's just sort of killed in that sequel-promising way. The Devil is not only incapable of stopping Spawn from doing anything, it can't even move its mouth to its own dialogue. Most of the effects here aren't all that good, but the Devil (ostensibly a potential effects higlight) is particularly lackluster. There are a few decent shots in- volving Spawn's prehensile chains and cape, and some effective wallcrawling shots, but the editing weakens even these. Heck, half the time Spawn isn't ev- en masked. The Violator has a few passable lines out of hundreds. The pro- duction design is derivative, and Graeme Revell's score goes for moody goth -- some Danny Elfman energy would have been welcome here. Even the credit sequence is reminiscent of "Seven". It's difficult to imagine anyone, even fans of the comic, enjoying this. But then, "Heavy Metal" has been inflated to cult sta- tus, so who knows? Aggressive aversion recommended. -- - Jeff "When I'm Finished With You, They'll Be Stumbling Over YOU In The Dark" Pidgeon From /home/matoh/tmp/sf-rev Fri Aug 22 16:46:08 1997 From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Aug 18 15:23:36 1997 From: WFrith1680@aol.com (Walter Frith) Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: Spawn (1997) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 5 Aug 1997 03:51:27 GMT Organization: None Lines: 46 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <5s67vv$fvu@nntp5.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer36.u.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #08457 Keywords: author=frith X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Cc: wdb@ipac.net Originator: grahams@homer36.u.washington.edu Path: news.ifm.liu.se!genius!seunet!news2.swip.net!mn6.swip.net!nntp.uio.no!newsfeed.nacamar.de!news.maxwell.syr.edu!infeed2.internetmci.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!netnews.nwnet.net!news.u.washington.edu!grahams Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:7840 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1469 'Spawn' A movie review by Walter Frith Some would accuse the makers of 'Spawn' of being creatively empty but that would be unfair because this movie set out to be exactly what the final product has become and that is a live action comic book. Based on the creation by Todd McFarlane, 'Spawn' is the story of a government assassin (Michael Jai White) who dies and goes to the thresholds of Hell and makes a deal with Satan concerning his return to Earth to participate in creating Armageddon where the conflict between Heaven and Hell will ultimately be decided. White makes the deal because he is promised re-united companionship with the wife he left behind at the time of his death on Earth. John Leguizamo portrays Clown, a Devil's disciple sent by Satan to make sure Spawn carries out his duty for the unspeakable forces of evil. Clown maintains an Earthly liaison with a government agent (Martin Sheen) who is bent on bringing biological warfare to anyone on Earth who will not follow in his quest for power. What the forces of evil don't realize is that Spawn receives visits from an English knight who died 500 years ago on Earth and works to save Spawn's soul for redemption. There are a lot of ingredients that went into this production and perhaps the most distinguished compliment that anyone can pay this movie is to call it technically efficient and a movie with extraordinary vision. It shows us things that will undoubtedly haunt us and has perhaps the darkest look I've ever seen in a motion picture. As far as the writing is concerned, the characters are good but the story is a shallow one at best. Its story is overwhelmed by special effects and a thundering music score but unlike 'Batman and Robin', 'Spawn' is a story about a crime fighting hero that certainly has many more colourful characters that audiences will remember long after they leave the theatre. John Leguizamo puts a frightfully silly style of improvisation on his character which doesn't always work but it is genuine to a certain degree in keeping with Clown's personality and Michael Jai White is perfect as the film's title character. This movie is for adults and young people about 14 and over and may cause nightmares for young children. Would I want to see 'Spawn' again? No, but I was impressed at the technical aspects of the film which for me were experimentation rather than genuine filmmaking. It's fast food rather than a home cooked meal. OUT OF 5> * * * From /home/matoh/tmp/sf-rev Fri Aug 22 16:46:10 1997 From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Aug 18 15:23:37 1997 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lejonet.se!newsfeed1.telia.com!borg.edu.sollentuna.se!news5.transpac.net!oden.abc.se!dos.canit.se!seunet!mn7.swip.net!mn6.swip.net!nntp.uio.no!news-feed.inet.tele.dk!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!infeed2.internetmci.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!netnews.nwnet.net!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: "Justin K. Siegel" Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: Spawn (1997) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 5 Aug 1997 03:51:51 GMT Organization: SaskNet News Distribution Lines: 31 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <5s680n$g02@nntp5.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer36.u.washington.edu Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #08461 Keywords: author=siegel X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer36.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:7880 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1474 S P A W N -- a movie review by Justin Siegel Hey, I'm a hip guy; I like comics. How come I didn't like this movie? It could have something to do with the fact that I don't like Todd McFarlane's comic of the same name, on which the movie is based. SPAWN is a gorgeous-looking, but intellectually numb science-fiction soon-to-be-cult film that, like all dark, dank, depressing action-films, contains balsa-wood acting, a script thay would earn the writer a C- on any 10th Grade creative writing assignment, and about a gazillion dollars worth of special-effects. What do I _really_ think og this movie? That's a mystery, even to me. While I enjoying looking at it, I was bored with the storyline. Michael Jai White plays Al Simmons, a trained assassin who, after being set up in North Korea and burnt to a crisp by bad guy Martin Sheen, goes to hell. Then he comes back (?) as Spawn, a superhero. Albeit an ugly, badly scarred superhero with a bad additude. He is befriended by a sadistic little demon named Clown (John Leguizamo), who wants him to lead the Army of Darkness in a war against Heaven. The movie portrays Satan as an "overgrown Gecko," and he, uh, it, is the most interesting character in the movie (not to mention the best looking, although Theresa Randle, as Simmons' estranged wife, comes close). As the plot plods along, Spawn's old wife (Randle), her new husband, and their daughter are all put in danger, and Spawn has to save them. Of course, Spawn doesn't die or turn back into Simmons or anything crazy like that, since there has to be a sequel, according to Law no. 442 in the Superhero Movie Code. SPAWN runs long at only an hour and 34 minutes. I enjoyed looking at some of the eye-popping special effects the film has to offer, but, as far as plot, story, or character development goes, look elsewhere. C (report card) 5 out of 10 ** (0 to ****) From /home/matoh/tmp/sf-rev Fri Aug 22 16:46:12 1997 From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Aug 18 15:23:38 1997 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!newsfeed.sunet.se!news99.sunet.se!news00.sunet.se!sunic!mn6.swip.net!nntp.uio.no!nntp.se.dataphone.net!zdc-e!super.zippo.com!lotsanews.com!howland.erols.net!wnfeed!204.127.130.5!worldnet.att.net!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: Steve Kong Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: Spawn (1997) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 6 Aug 1997 04:03:29 GMT Organization: None Lines: 64 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <5s8t2h$9ac@nntp5.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer12.u.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #08471 Keywords: author=kong X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer12.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:7882 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1475 SPAWN (1997) A film review by Steve Kong Copyright 1997 Steve Kong Spawn aims to be a dark, broad, and moody comic book to silver screen translation, much like the first two Batman films and the first Crow film. It almost reaches this difficult goal, but falls short when a specific character is introduced and the story starts to lag. Spawn is about Al Simmons (Michael Jai White), an agent for some super-secret government operation, A-6. A-6 is a group that conducts operations that most of us Americans don't know about. Simmons, though, is through with running these black-ops. He has grown a conscience and wants out of A-6. Which is fine with his superior, Jason Wynn (Martin Sheen). Simmons, as it seems, is the best killer around, and the forces of evil, lead by the Devil himself, want Simmons to lead the army of evil. The middleman between the Devil and these mortals on Earth is an evil clown (the unrecognizable John Leguizamo). Simmons is killed in "one last operation" and his soul is sent to Hell. In Hell, Simmons makes a deal with the Devil. In order to see his wife, Wanda, again, Simmons agrees to lead the army of evil. But, as Simmons returns to Earth as Spawn, a hero with a suit that morphs (complete with chains and a cool cape), his conscience returns also. With the devil's helper, the clown, sitting on one shoulder and a new godly helper, Coglistro (Nicol Williamson), sitting on the other, Spawn fights himself to see if he is evil or good. There is a subplot about a genocidal chemical that Wynn wants to unleash onto the world, but that subplot falls to the wayside of the special effects. What ruins the film is Leguizamo as the clown. First time director Mark Dippe (known mainly for his special effects work at ILM) does a great job with visuals and setting the mood of the film, that is until the arrival of Leguizamo. Leguizamo fills his time on screen with bad one liners and flatulence jokes. You can see how this instantly toasts the dark mood. As with most comic book to silver screen translations the story in Spawn is pretty thin and the characters two-dimensional. At the time that the Spawn comic books were released, I was still a comic book reader. In the comic book Spawn, Simmons/Spawn are haunted by memories of his wife and past life, and this causes serious inner pain. And it is this inner pain that motivates the comic book Spawn to do what he does. In the movie the only sign of inner pain is the two or three times that Spawn looks to the sky and yells "Wanda." Most of the other time, his acts are just of pure revenge towards Wynn. The special effects are the opposite of the story and plot. They are spectacular, and this is what is expected from a director who was once a special effects person. The most impressive special effect, and least used, is Spawns cape. The cape is wonderfully fluid, and if you haven't seen it in the comic books, the cape stretches for what seems to be miles. Spawns armor is also pretty impressive, but not as much as the cape. The ending hints, most definitely, at a sequel. I hope they do not produce a sequel if it is going to be another mediocre film as this one. The movie moves particularly slow, and I found myself yawning and looking at my watch constantly throughout the film. This is a film that I would recommend only for people to see on video, and only to see for the special effects. Other than that, go rent Batman and see a good comic book to silver screen translation. -- steve kong (boiled@earthlink.net) come spy on me: http://steve-cam.home.ml.org/ movie reviews: http://hardboiled.home.ml.org/ From /home/matoh/tmp/sf-rev Fri Aug 22 16:46:16 1997 From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Aug 18 15:23:40 1997 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!eru.mt.luth.se!news.algonet.se!news-spur1.maxwell.syr.edu!news.maxwell.syr.edu!howland.erols.net!wnfeed!204.127.130.5!worldnet.att.net!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: Phil St-Germain Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: Spawn (1997) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 6 Aug 1997 16:18:23 GMT Organization: VTL Lines: 61 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <5sa84f$jju@nntp5.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer35.u.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #08473 Keywords: author=stgermain X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer35.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:7862 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1470 Spawn Horror/science-fiction/comedy 5.0 out of 10, ** out of **** Opening everywhere on 97/08/01 Directed by Mark A.Z. Dippé Starring Michael Jai White, John Leguizamo, Martin Sheen, Nicol Williamson, D.B. Sweeney. Written by Allan McElroy Produced by Clint Goldman Here is the long-awaited movie adaptation from the SUPER popular comic book series created by Todd McFarlane (who was working with Marvel before). The film should please comic book lovers... but as for others, it's more likely to be a mess. A character coming from hell to lead demon hordes to win the war against humans, Spawn decides to have his own vengence on Jason Wynn (Martin Sheen), who killed him five years before, sending him at the devil's domain. But Spawn, an heavily armed, martial arts master superhero, decides to take another direction: to use what's left of his humanity and his superpowers to fight against the forces from Hell. Along the way, he'll have a so-called "friend", Violator, an evil clown who seems to enjoy to double-cross people, as Spawn will see. For Spawn fans, the story won't be hard to understand, and they're likely to enjoy the impressive special effects. But for those unfamiliar with the comic strip, they may have an Hell of a time if special effects aren't their cup of tea... We'll start by discussing the movie's positive points. Of course, the special effects. They come from the same team who worked on The Abyss and The Terminator between others. They're really well done, although as a whole they are almost TOO present, and the "awe" factor is gone. Still, we can't take that away from the film: the visual effects are very good, and often surprising. The three main actors offer pretty decent performance, but the show isn't them: it's the special effects themselves. Now, with the problems. The story is built for the person who is familiar with Spawn and it's world and characters. It's not necessarily a bad thing... but for people (like me) not very familiar to it, it's needlessly convoluted. I read some Spawn comic books already, but even then, the screenplay lacks a stronger sense of construction. The character of John Leguizamo, Violator, isn't very effective. Weither he is disgusting, playing the stand-up comic or just walking around insulting people, a lot of his lines fall flat, without much impact. But that's pretty much how he is in the comic book, so it's not a major flaw. All in all, I'd recommend this film to Spawn lovers everywhere, and movie-goers whose love of special effects is very important. As far as superhero fare goes, I liked the likes of Batman, Superman and The Shadow way better, but that doesn't mean everyone will agree with me... Go to Phil's Realm Of movies at: http://members.tripod.com/~thecritic/index.html With over 350 reviews with new ones each week, polls, articles, analysis of 10 of the best movies ever, and more. From /home/matoh/tmp/sf-rev Fri Aug 22 16:46:20 1997 From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Aug 18 15:23:41 1997 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!newsfeed.sunet.se!news99.sunet.se!news01.sunet.se!sunic!02-newsfeed.univie.ac.at!newsfeed.de.ibm.net!ibm.net!newsfeed.uk.ibm.net!ibm.net!nntp.uio.no!www.nntp.primenet.com!globalcenter1!news.primenet.com!nntp.primenet.com!europa.clark.net!205.252.116.205!howland.erols.net!infeed1.internetmci.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!in3.uu.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: Jesse Kaplan Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: Spawn (1997) Followup-To: rec.arts.movies.current-films Date: 6 Aug 1997 16:20:18 GMT Organization: MHVNet Lines: 44 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <5sa882$jmr@nntp5.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer35.u.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #08476 Keywords: author=kaplan X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer35.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:7869 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1473 SPAWN A Film Review By Jesse A. Kaplan Cast: Michael Jai White, John Leguizamo, Martin Sheen, Theresa Randle, Mindy Clarke Directed By mark A.Z. Dippe So many movies are coming out now from former comic books and change much so they can appeal to the general public who are not as familiar with the stories. SPAWN is no exception to this, the problem here is that the plot, the directing, the effects, and the acting are so poor that anyone even remotely interested in the movie will lose that slight bit of interest 25 minutes into it. The plot deals with an assassinated hitman Al Simmons, (White) who dies, makes a deal with the devil to lead his armies to taking over the world in exchange for seeing his fiancee Wanda (Randle). Violator (Leguizamo), who looks like a cross between a constipated Danny Devito and Chris Farley on a bad hair day, is there to make sure Simmons, now called Spawn, lives up to his end of the deal, which includes killing global kingpin Jason Wynn (Sheen) who is going to blow up the world if he dies by a deal made with the Violator. Yawn!! Who cares. Leguizamo gives a horrendous and annoying performance here, Sheen looks bored even though he couldn't be in a better picture, and White doesn't have much to do as Spawn, as the costume and effects on him steal the spotlight. Most of the effects in this movie, which were so anticipated and talked up, look like you're playing Doom II on a 3DO system, its completely computer and looks it, so the scenes of hell are ridiculous and unrealistic. This is another movie, such as TWISTER and INDEPENDENCE DAY, where the plot and storyline are simply there to back up the Special Effects, which can not and will not make a movie. The only positives I enjoyed from SPAWN are Mindy Clarke, not for her acting but for some other features (nice rubber) and the special effects on Spawn himself. I give this movie a single star * and do not recommend it to anyone, there are much better movies out worth seeing. AIR FORCE ONE, anyone? **** Excellent (Air Force One, The Rock) *** Good (Face/Off, Mission Impossible) ** Fair (Con Air, The Devil's Own) * Poor (Twister, Spawn) 0 Horrible (Batman and Robin, Congo) Copyright 1997 paladin@mhv.net Jesse A. Kaplan From /home/matoh/tmp/sf-rev Fri Aug 22 16:46:22 1997 From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Aug 18 15:23:42 1997 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!eru.mt.luth.se!news-ge.switch.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!news-hh.maz.net!newsfeed.nacamar.de!howland.erols.net!infeed2.internetmci.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!netnews.nwnet.net!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: mredman@bvoice.com (Michael Redman) Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: Spawn (1997) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 8 Aug 1997 16:12:26 GMT Organization: ... Lines: 58 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <5sfgha$88h@nntp5.u.washington.edu> ~Reply-To: mredman@bvoice.com NNTP-Posting-Host: homer14.u.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #08490 Keywords: author=redman X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer14.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:7883 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1477 Spawn A Film Review By Michael Redman Copyright 1997 Michael Redman ** (out of ****) The entry into the world of feature length films by the hero of the best-seller comic book and highly acclaimed HBO half hour animated series clearly demonstrates the old adage that length doesn't necessarily equal quality. Spawn's daddy Todd McFarlane, the renegade comic book artist that quit Marvel comics at the height of his popularity to form an independent company has marketed his creation masterfully. There are several comic series, trading cards, the cartoons, t-shirts and wonderful toys: all produced with care and an artistic vision. And now comes Spawn The Movie, a different kettle of fish. Al Simmons (Michael Jai White) is a top assassin for a shadowy US government agency who decides to hang up his big guns in exchange for a nice quiet family life. His boss Jason Wynn (Martin Sheen in a wasted role), in league with the devil, gives Simmons the usual retirement for people who know too much. Waking up in Hell, he agrees to lead the armies of darkness against the forces of light in exchange for seeing his beloved wife Wanda again. The Hellspawn returns to Earth five years later confused and bewildered. His new supervisor, Clown (John Leguizamo in a fat suit) is a wise-cracking motor-mouth from the netherworld. On his other shoulder is Cogliostro (Nicol Williamson) who attempts to convince him that Good is the true path. The film is filled with good intentions gone bad and not just in the motivations of the characters. Many of the movie elements don't work as they are intended. Spawn carries huge guns and rides a motorcycle. Presumably this is to show that he is not familiar with his enormous abilities and at first relies on his old techniques. What actually happens is that the all-powerful agent of Satan looks goofy riding a bike through the city streets. The devil himself is visually exceptional but for some reason is unable to move his mouth when talking. Giving the filmmakers the benefit of the doubt, perhaps he is communicating telepathically and has no need of a mobile jaw, but it comes across as bad animation. The effects are often exceptional, but just as often look like clumsy student projects. The images of Hell are stunning, but fall apart the longer they are on screen. The film doesn't live up to its promise of a stunning look at the morally ambiguous lead character torn between good and evil. What we get instead is another tepid walk though flash with little substance. [This appeared in the 8/7/97 "Bloomington Voice", Bloomington, Indiana. Michael Redman can be reached at mredman@bvoice.com ] -- mailto:mredman@bvoice.com From /home/matoh/tmp/sf-rev Fri Aug 22 16:46:24 1997 From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Aug 18 15:23:43 1997 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!newsfeed.sunet.se!news99.sunet.se!news00.sunet.se!sunic!mn6.swip.net!nntp.uio.no!news-spur1.maxwell.syr.edu!news.maxwell.syr.edu!infeed1.internetmci.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!192.220.251.22!netnews.nwnet.net!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: Laurence Mixson Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: Spawn (1997) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 15 Aug 1997 20:51:55 GMT Organization: Datasync Internet Lines: 76 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <5t2fhb$dj8@nntp5.u.washington.edu> ~Reply-To: jarls@datasync.com NNTP-Posting-Host: homer01.u.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #08602 Keywords: author=mixson X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer01.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:7994 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1491 Spawn (1997) Starring: Michael Jai White, John Leguizamo, Martin Sheen, D.B. Sweeney, Nicol Williamson, and Theresa Randle. Reviw by Laurence Mixson(venom8@hotmail.com) *** out of **** Finally, after years and years of waiting, the moviegoing public gets a good film based on a comic book. You do, of course, recall the awe-inspiring stupidity of Punisher, the wretched horribleness of Captain America, and you will cringe in mortal terror by remembering another recent summer release, Batman and Robin. But since this is a GOOD movie, I won't dwell on those embarassments of cinema. I'll move right on to Spawn. If you're a comic book reader, you probably already know the story of how Spawn came to be. But for those who don't, I'll give a quick synopsis of the first 15 minutes or so of the movie. Basically, Al Simmons(Michael Jai White) is an assassin at some secret government base, kind of like the CIA. He is happily married to Wanda(Theresa Randle), who he loves dearly. His partner is Terry Fitzgerald(D.B. Sweeney) a computer geek. After completing a successful assassination of a US enemy and killing lots of civilians in the process, Simmons grows a conscious and decides to quit. But not before he completes one last mission, his boss, Jason Wynn(Martin Sheen) tells him. Al agrees. Little does he know that the mission is a set-up, and that Wynn has cut a deal with the devil, Malebolgia, who is represented by the fould-mouthed Clown(John Leguizamo). Malebolgia has given Wynn power in exchange for a deadly chemical weapon. Now he wants something else: a person to lead his dark forces in the apocalypse between heaven and hell. He orders Wynn to kill Al Simmons so that Al will go to hell(assassins don't go to heaven), thus giving Malebolgia a leader. Wynn agrees, and it's goodbye Al. When Simmons is killed, he wake up in the dark pit of hell and hears a voice asking him if he'll lead the dark armies on earth in exchange for being able to see Wanda. Al agrees, and is returned to earth. But a few things have changed... 1)His body is badly burned, although he now has a special costume and cool chains that come out of his body. 2)Malebolgia has returned him to earth 5 years later. 3)He now has Clown and Count Cogliostro(Nicol Williamson) following him around. Clowin is trying to persuade him to hell's side, while Cogliostro is wooing him to heaven's side. Of course, now Simmons is unpresentable to Wanda, who has married Terry, and had a child together, Cyan. Plus Clown is trying to get him to kill Jason Wynn, because Wynn has a device in his heart so that if his heart stops, the chemical weapon he developed for Malebolgia will go off, killing a lot of the earth's population and giving a chance for the dark armies of hell to cross onto earth. Now you're confused, right? Don't worry, the movie lays it out in a way so that you always know what's going on. Of course, for a movie like this to work, it has to have 2 things: good characters and good FX. On the first note, everyone is excellent in their acting, but John Leguizamo stands out as being the hilariously evil Clown. On the second note, the FX are terrific. Wait till you see the battle in hell between the Violator(the hideous and bigger half of Clown)and Spawn. If you have any reservations about seeing this movie, then throw them away. It's the best film playing right now out there, and the 3rd best movie this summer(it falls short of Con Air and Face/Off). Go see this movie.