Spawn (1997)

Directed by Mark A.Z. Dippé. Starring Michael Jai White, John Leguizamo, Martin Sheen, D. B. Sweeney, Nicol Williamson, Miko Hughes, Theresa Randle, Melinda Clarke, Sydni Beaudoin. [PG-13]

Mindless, chaotic superhero origin movie of the Image Comics character created by Todd MacFarlane. CIA operative Al Simmons (White) is betrayed and murdered by his boss (Sheen)—so clearly evil, the hero looks like a fool for following his orders—but after five years in hell, returns to Earth as the scarred avenger Spawn via a Faustian bargain with a demon. Full of incoherent and numbing action, non-stop noise, and (aside from Spawn’s cool-looking cape, glimpsed only about three times) embarrassingly fake and ugly digital effects, it only could have worked with a compelling hook or character arc, but alas, everything cooking beneath the sensory assault wavers between the generic and the impenetrable all the way. Ultra-derivative art direction and atmospheric effects do less to remind the viewer of the early Batman flicks and The Crow than the Super Mario Bros. movie adaptation. Stuck growling and grimacing anytime his face is visible onscreen, Al/Spawn is an uninteresting comic book protagonist, and Sheen’s hamminess is one-note; trapped beneath a fat suit and pounds of makeup, Leguizamo chews the scenery (and maggot-covered pizza) as the nefarious Clown, but he comes off as a juvenile facsimile of the Joker or Beetlejuice too often. Williamson’s final film role (as Spawn’s mentor/guide), and his theatrical voice providing bits of narration is one of the film’s few virtues.

30/100