Subject: Review: Spawn (1997)

From: "Justin K. Siegel" <[email-masked]>
Date: 5 Aug 1997 03:51:51 GMT

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 ****)