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Spawn [1997] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
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Our Price: £4.35 (subject to change)
Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
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 to 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 special effects and great potential, Spawn seems to come up short. While White certainly displays verve in his characterisation 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
Not for spawn fans
Review date: 2008-06-13 Rating: 4 out of 10
So if you take one of the greatest comics created and make it into a feature film surely you will have one of the best adaptations right? definately wrong!!!
this unfortunately did not do justice to the comics and spawn series! as a major fan i heard mixed reviews but decided to buy it especially as it is cheaper now.
to be fair the acting in Spawn is good and they have got most of the characters likeness spot on! but the script was very badly written and the actors would have a hard time making anyone believe any of it!
I also believe if spawn had better CGI it would have been much more enjoyable. but most of the CGI made me think i was watching an epsiode of charmed.
i did enjoy the first half of the film and they are some parts i think was ok, like the first scene where you get to see his cape! but overall the film is poorly made and the ending was ridculous.
what the film achieved was taking an excellent dark gritty comic into a childish unbelieveable film.
after all this said i didnt think it was total rubbish (close though)but its not a worthy adaptation. its a shame, spawn as a film could have so much potenial. i hope another one is attemped!
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Reviews
Decent sci-fi movie.
Review date: 2007-01-21 Rating: 6 out of 10
I watched this on the recommendation of a mate, he loves it sadly i dont share his enthusiasm. Im taking into consideration it was made 10 years ago so didnt expect much from the cgi and costumes.
The cgi was ok and i wasnt dissappointed because i didnt expect much but the costumes for the violator and spawn were excellent. The acting is fairly suitable for a comic book based movie.
This movie has a lot of potential and would be ideal for being remade now with a decent budget, longer running time and most importantly an 18 rating because hearing demons from hell saying "frigging" instead of the obvious is really a let down.Decent little popcorn movie but dont expect a masterpiece on the level of spiderman/batman begins.
Diabolical in every way
Review date: 2006-03-20 Rating: 2 out of 10
I'm quite a fan of good comic book adaptations, but sadly this isn't. The script is appalling, particularly the dialogue, the villains are laughable, the acting is worse (with the exception of the lead, who does his best given the lousy material). Even Martin Sheen as the villain looks if he'd rather shoot his agent than Spawn. Avoid like the plague, and rent Hellboy instead.
okay
Review date: 2005-02-26 Rating: 6 out of 10
when i first saw this when i was younger i thought it was brilliant so when it come out on dvd i had to get it but when i watched all these years later i thought it was pretty rubbish and boring this could have been brilliant with lots of gore like the comics and some bad language and thats all it needs overall an okay film but could have been a lot better
No No No No and No again!
Review date: 2004-06-11 Rating: 2 out of 10
Nice try but No! This is one wierd film about hell, reincarnation, revenge and some short fat hyper freak running round in a clown suit. I just about managed to survive the first 45 mins, could not survive a minute longer. Considering the attempted storyline, the acting isn't bad really, and the special effects that i saw were pretty good but the real problem lies with the script. Cant really see how this could ever have been a success. On the back it compares it to MiB, saying its the funniest thing since - didnt laugh once in those 45mins to be honest. You'd be better off keeping your £18.99 in the bank and collecting the interest.
2 Stars for the special effects, -1 for the storyline to leave 1 big NO!
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
John Leguizamo
Nicol Williamson
Martin Sheen
Theresa Randle
Michael Jai White
Creators:
Michael Jai White (Primary Contributor)
John Leguizamo (Primary Contributor)
Mark A.Z. Dippé (Writer)
Adrianna A.J. Cohen (Producer)
Alan C. Blomquist (Producer)
Brian Witten (Producer)
Clint Goldman (Producer)
Director(s):
Recording label: New Line Home Video
Manufacturer: New Line Home Video
EAN: 9786304712498
Binding: DVD
ISBN: 6304712499
Number of items: 1
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Colour, Dolby, DVD-Video, Live, NTSC, Special Edition, Widescreen,
Release date: 1998-01-06
Universal product code (UPC): 794043461026
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Region code: 1
Running time: 96 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1997-08-01
Language: French (Subtitled)