Spawn (1997)

Director:

Mark A.Z. Dippé

Writers (WGA):

Todd McFarlane (comic book)
Alan B. McElroy (screen story) ...

Release Date:

1 August 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | Action | Fantasy | Horror

Tagline:

Born in darkness. Sworn to justice.

Plot:

A mercenary is killed, but comes back from Hell as a reluctant soldier of the Devil.

Plot Keywords:

Devil | Hell | Clown | Deal With The Devil | Revenge

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Michael Jai White	...	Al Simmons / Spawn
John Leguizamo	...	Clown / Violator
Martin Sheen	...	Jason Wynn
Theresa Randle	...	Wanda Blake
Nicol Williamson	...	Cogliostro
D.B. Sweeney	...	Terry Fitzgerald
Melinda Clarke	...	Jessica Priest
Miko Hughes	...	Zack
Sydni Beaudoin	...	Cyan
Michael Papajohn	...	Glen, Zack's Dad
Frank Welker	...	The Devil Malebolgia (voice)
Robia LaMorte	...	XNN Reporter (as Robia La Morte)
John Cothran Jr.	...	African Liaison
Caroline Gibson	...	News Anchor
Tony Haney	...	African Liaison

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements involving the demonic underworld, violence, intense fantasy action and crude humor.

Runtime:

96 min | USA:98 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Germany:18 (director's cut) | Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | South Korea:12 | Ireland:12 | Ireland:18 (director's cut) | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A | Canada:PA (Manitoba) (director's cut) | Canada:18A (director's cut) | Finland:K-16 (video premiere) (director's cut) | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | UK:12 | UK:15 (director's cut) | USA:PG-13 | USA:R (director's cut) | Mexico:B

Filming Locations:

Hollywood Center Studios - 1040 N. Las Palmas Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

Tim Burton was the original choice to direct.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: At the beginning of the movie, Sommins is supposed to be on a mission in Hong Kong, but when he fires his missile to destroy a terrorist's plane, you can see the famous lookout tower at LAX.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Cogliostro: The battle between Heaven and Hell has waged eternal, their armies fueled by souls harvested on Earth. The devil, Malebolgia, has sent a lieutenant to Earth to recruit men who will turn the world into a place of death in exchange for wealth and power, a place that will provide enough souls to complete his army and allow Armageddon to begin. All the Dark Lord needs now is a great soldier, someone who can lead his hordes to the gates of Heaven and burn them down.

Movie Connections:

References The Mask (1994)

Soundtrack:

Satan

I think I blocked this movie after watching it

I saw this movie opening night back in 1997, now in 2008 I stumbled across it on the FX channel. I remember it being bad, but wow, I forgot just how bad it was. Now I was never a fan of the comic, yeah I picked up the first half a dozen issues because at the time McFarlane was "the man" as in the hottest artist in comics. Of course I later realized he was also the biggest ego in comics and it showed in his deals with comic companies. Over the course of a couple years his ego wrecked a lot of good comics and eventually he left to do action figures (very very high quality) but i digress. Spawn is basically the antihero taken as far it can go, the anti hero is a dead mercenary who no one liked and the devil gave incredible power too for reasons that make not a lot of sense and the hero refuses to be the bad guy... sorta. He's not likable, hes not a good guy, he's basically a massive jerk who's only redeeming factor is that if he had the motivation to be evil the world would suffer, but hes too much of a jerk even to be evil right. in the comic version Spawn's powers are classified as "yes", like the old Superman comics, Spawn's powers are limited only to what the story needs. Can he fly? Umm sure, this issue he can. Can he be invulnerable, yeah this time, but not next time, why? Dunno, don't care, McFarlane draws, and the story is written around the art. The movie seems to work the same way, "Give me cool special effects and we'll write a story around them" seems like what the director said. Sheen is apparently paying off a gambling debt, Leguizamo was working for the paycheck and barely acts, heck most of the cast seem to give up halfway through and just decide to get to the end with as little effort as possible and deny knowledge of the project after that. The CGI is low end craptastic stuff (real cheap 90's Amiga work here). The ending is ho-hum and could have been better written by the average 8 year old after just showing him a couple of the comic covers. Are there worse comic book movies? Yes, but not many. If you are thinking of buying this movie, or even watching it, I suggest a bottle of your favorite 80+ proof beverage to dull the pain. If you manage to actually enjoy this film then I suggest a career in the S&M industry or that you see a good psychiatrist. The DVD needs a warning label "May cause depression, brain damage, or internal bleeding and should not be viewed sober. The Surgeon General has issued a warning that this film can be hazardous to the viewer's health because its so bad it might give you cancer."