Product Description

IMAGINE A CREATURE ON THE VERGE OF CREATION. A CREATURE WHO MUST COME OUT OF THE DARK AND INTO THE LIGHT TO FIGHT FOR JUSTICE AND VENGEANCE. FROM FLESH TO STEEL. FROM BLOOD TO BLADE. FROM MAN TO SPAWN. TODD MCFARLANE'S COMIC BOOK SENSATION COMES TO LIFE IN THIS LIVE ACTION FILM. STUNNING SPECIAL EFFECTS IN THIS FILM.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9842 in DVD
• Brand: NEW LINE HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 1998-01-06
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Live, Special Edition, Widescreen, NTSC
• Subtitled in: French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 94 minutes

Amazon.com
After being murdered for quitting his role as a ruthless yet moral government assassin, Al Simmons (Michael Jai White) is sent to Hell, where he makes a pact with the demon Malebolgia--if Simmons is allowed see his lover, Wanda, again, he will agree to lead the demon's armies to storm the gates of Heaven. Transformed into a superhuman entity with shape-shifting powers and quick regeneration capabilities, Simmons (soon to be dubbed "Spawn" by Malebolgia's crony, The Violator) returns to Earth and attempts to reunite with Wanda, not knowing that five years have passed. He also seeks revenge on his former boss and killer, Jason Wynn (Martin Sheen), who has made a deal with The Violator to develop a lethal virus to take over the world, where Wynn is promised to be king.

Spawn wages an inner battle between good and evil as he tries to come to terms with selling his soul and what it could mean for humankind. Despite excellent effects and great potential, Spawn seems to come up short. While White certainly displays verve in his characterization of the twisted hero, he cannot overcome some forced dialogue. On the flip side, the usually engaging John Leguizamo portrays the sinister Violator--an evil monster masquerading as a rotund, weird-looking clown--as an irritating lackey who spews overbearing sarcasm and incessantly banal one-liners. Admitted, many of Spawn's action sequences are fun, and the transitions effectively brisk, but more could have been done to explore how Simmons grapples with his humanity in these daunting circumstances. But if you want sizzling action sequences and digital effects, this film should keep you happy. --Bryan Reesman

Customer Reviews

Never Trust a Fat Clown
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.

I want to violate the little girlie-man who directed this
Oh dear. Spawn certainly falls short of everything that made the comic such a big hit. The action sequences are good, yes, but who cares? It's all show and no substance. More could have been done to: show the effect Spawn has on those around him; show his inner conflict, the 'whatever he does is bad' theme present in the comics; make Cogliostro less an interfering Yoda-figure and more of a mentor, the only one who gives a rat's ass about Spawn; make Malebolgia more convincing, and fix the Hell scenes; cut out the random elements which spoil it, such as the Clown's face on the spade, the way the Violator turns into a bookshelf and back again, the way Spawn's cape never seems to know whether it's coming or going.
It was a good idea, the opening sequence is fantastic. The hell vortex? Then the example of Simmons in action? Excellent. You know he's a good guy straight away. But a crap script, horrendous miscasting of Leguizamo as Clown, and a dumbing down of the major themes turned this potential blockbuster into a B-movie nightmare.

See only the R-Rated Version.
in 1997, me and my mom saw this in the theaters and we both liked it. i've always been fascinated with both TV Show and Comic Books ( a Spawn Fanatic). the story deals with Al Simmonds ( Michael Jai White) who gets murdered by his scum bag boss " Jason Wynn" ( Martin Sheen) and is sent to hell, makes a deal with the evil lord of Darkness " Malbolgia" and becomes a Shapeshifting avenger named " Spawn" so that he can see his wife again. The DVD Director's cut is the only one worth watching instead of the lousy PG-13 Version that they had dumbed down, i know that The Clown ( John Leguizomo) can be annoying but you can just forgive that and just see this movie with a different if interesting twist to the superhero stuff and some spectacular visual effects.