Spawn (1997)
7/10
Starring
Michael Jai White
John Leguizamo
Martin Sheen
Theresa Randle
Directed by Mark A.Z. Dippé
I can't, I just can't. You have no idea how cool movies were in the 90s,
the one-punch kills, the silly effects, those times when talking a certain way
with silly one-liners was the thing.
Every time I sit to watch an old 90s movie, like I did watching Spawn, I
am taken to a new world. My attention locks in, sucked into the nostalgia, when
a frown and a one-liner were all you needed to tell everyone you're the cool
protagonist. Spawn is just all that.
This movie got laid into for the liberty it took drifting away from the
comics, but I liked it back then, and seeing it now, I still like it. The
acting was cool, the characters had intent, and Michael Jai White as Spawn was
given to us with so much pain, his portrayal was cool. I felt this movie should
have had two more parts to complete the whole feel of the war between heaven
and hell.
If you haven't seen Spawn by now, don't, unless you love 90s action
films, then you'll love this.
The plot follows Al Simmons, a government assassin who was murdered and
sent to hell for his sins. He's sent back as a Hell Spawn, with a handler, The
Violator, played by John Leguizamo, and if you know him, you'll love him here.
His acting in the fat suit was amazing. Spawn is sent back to lead Hell's
warriors and bring forth Armageddon.
The thing with Spawn is, he came back with his memories and just wanted
the life he had back, his life with his wife Wanda, who by the time he came
back from hell had moved on, with no one other than his best friend.
So what you are
watching is a man meant to be on the side of hell, fighting to be on the side
of just being left alone to grieve the loss of his life.
The fighting in this movie is with guns, less with hands, and the thing
that always stays with me is the cape, the cape effect in this movie is
something to see. Don't judge it with the eyes of 2026 and all that Marvel
polish, judge it with the eyes of a kid watching this in 1997.
All that said, the story does feel rushed as there is a thin
understanding between the fight of Heaven and Hell. Then when it comes to the
side characters, they are thinly written, this movie feels like it needed two
more parts to breath and deliver.
Now, if you have not seen the animated series that followed this movie,
then please do.
It is dark, mature viewing, 18 episodes across three seasons that do
better justice to the comics than the movie did. But that said, this is a
classic 90s movie that gave me nostalgia overload.
And I recommend it any day for anyone who loves the 90s.
