Spawn (1997) Film Review: Hidden Gem Or Should've Stayed In Hell?

With "Bloodshot" coming out this week as well as the character almost released in "Mortal Kombat 11", it's time I should review the film of the most popular non Marvel/DC comic-book character, Spawn. The film follows a mostly accurate origin story of the titular character as Al Simmons, a Special Forces assassin, is killed in action by Jason Wynn, his superior officer. Simmons is then approached by the demon known as Malebolgia, who offers him a second chance in life if he agrees to lead his army. Simmons agrees, but the deal back-fires on him. Not only is he covered by burn marks, but five years have past since his death, where his wife moved on as she marries Al's best friend and gives birth to a daughter. Simmons is then put on a path between justice or vengeance as he struggles to figure out what to do with his life and abilities. While I personally liked the story fine, I understand why many don't like the film's interpretation, mainly due to the gated source material used in the origin story and how the film doesn't try to adapt more interesting storylines that could have been brought to life in live-action. Since this was the character's first film though, I think that the origin story was needed for the general audience at the time. However, it is the tone that proves to be a persistent issue as it clashes with it being both serious or goofy. Although the character known as the Violator is meant to be over-the-top, the other villains are also silly to watch due to their embarrassing portrayals. Considering that there are constantly present throughout the film, it makes the tone extremely conflicted with itself, seeing how that the Spawn character and his dilemma is captured dramatically, but the villains are just too cartoony to be taken serious. At the very least, the comedy performed by the Violator is pretty fun to watch, mainly because of John Leguizamo's performance.

Micheal Jai White is well-casted as Al Simmons. Not only does he get the character beats well such as the wrathful yet hopeless soul, but his commitment to wear the make-up for the majority of the running time is admirable. John Leguizamo is perfect as the Violator, the filthy, midget clown who is trying to persuade Spawn into leading the armies of Hell. I honestly believe that this is Leguizamo's best performance in his career due to the energy he brings to the character and the physical look of the character being very comic-accurate to the point that you'd forget that Leguizamo is playing him. Martin Sheen plays Jason Wynn, the typical evil bad guy who creates a deadly virus that he threats to unleash on the planet. Outside of him also making the deal with Malebolgia that goes south in his plans, Wynn is just a generic villain with no morals. Cogliostro, played by Nicol Williamson, is Spawn's mentor towards the path of light, for he was once a Hellspawn himself who managed to align himself with Heaven. Despite his limited screentime, Williamson does a pretty good job in his performance. As for the side characters, there's Wanda, Simmons's wife who does nothing in the story, Terry, Simmons's best friend who is genuinely a decent man and learns of Wynn's diabolical plan during the film, Jessica Priest, Wynn's female bodyguard who is just as over-the-top as his boss, Zack, a kid who hangs out with Spawn in the slums, and Cyan, the daughter of Wanda and Terry who has a kind heart to Spawn, despite his scarred appearance. To be fair, most of the characters and actors do a respectable job, although Wanda should have done more in the film overall. I feel that Sheen's performance as Wynn, as well as Priest, really drags the film quite a bit, due to their generic personalities.

The film was directed by Mark A.Z. Dippe, which remains as his only blockbuster he has ever directed to date. To be honest, Dippe really shouldn't have directed this film. The movie is full of dark and grey colours. Although there is some bright green due to the necroplasm, the look of the film is overbearingly dark and not in a gothic way that makes the visuals stand out. It's simply just a dark film. The cinematography by Guillermo Navarro helps at times to make the shots look good and have certain scenes to be directed well. The score by Graeme Revell reeks of the 90's though with grunge rock, though the dramatic moments have some nice, softer beats. The editing can range from good to pathetic. The transitions of fire effects or the face of Malebolgia are so gimmicky and silly, and certain cuts can come across as awkward such as the random moment where Simmons puts on the necroplasm armour while a trio of Satanists are performing in the same graveyard. The make-up effects are generally fantastic as Spawn and the Violator look extremely good, with the bonus that White and Leguizamo are performing with the prosthetics. However, the weakest element for this film are the visual effects. Despite Dippe's background as a visual effect artist, it's quite clear that the film didn't have enough time for the artists to render the CGI properly. Although there are elements that I don't mind such as the cape, chains or even the Violator's true form (since there are moments of him being a animatronic), but Malebolgia and the sequences in Hell are so poorly rendered that it looks like a game made for the Playstation. Malebolgia is so laughable that it makes the Violator more scary than that of the portrayal of the Devil. The action sequences are affected by this as well. Although the action done in the truck chase or Spawn's assassination attempt towards Wynn are done well enough, it's the fights between Spawn and the Violator that are unbearable due to the poor quality of the CGI and the climatic fight in Hell looks so silly that it doesn't appear that it belongs in the final cut of any film. Overall, Dippe really should have directed some animated films before working on a live-action feature, as it would give him experience to not turn the live-action film into a Saturday morning cartoon.

"Spawn" is a mixed bag at the end of the day. While the origin story is well-told, the majority of the characters are portrayed good enough(albeit The Violator steals the entire film with his characterization and Leguizamo's performance), the fantastic make-up on the main leads, the decent cinematography, and action sequences do their best in making a competent film, there are just too many glaring issues. From the inconsistent tone, poor characterizations and performances of Wynn and Priest, poor directing from Dippe, horrendous lighting and colour that refuse to have a visual flair, the underwhelming score, the cheesy editing, and the poorly rendered CGI. It's by no means as terrible as others make it out to be, but it's very botched up to the point that it's not easy to point to one issue that would improve the film drastically. At the end of the day, you can still get some fun out of the film by appreciating the elements that are done quite well. However, don't expect it to be anything but decent at best.

Verdict: 5/10. Mediocre overall. Stick with the HBO animated series if you are a fan of the character or want a much better adaptation.