Movie of the Month: Spawn

This month, we’re going back in time 20 years to the summer of 1997 to watch the adaptation of Todd McFarlane’s insanely popular comic series, Spawn.

Starring a pre-Black Dynamite Michael Jai White, an insane John Leguizamo and a cheesy Martin Sheen, the movie loosely adapts the opening arc of the comic series as special forces soldier Al Simmons is betrayed and killed but makes a deal with the devil, or Malebolgia, to lead Hell’s armies but he sets out on his own on a quest of revenge.  He’s tormented by The Violator, a demon who appears for most of the movie as a fat clown, who has also made a deal with Simmons’ former boss Wynn to set a plan in motion that could destroy the Earth.  Spawn was a comic book phenomenon in the 90’s and the movie drew interest from some huge directors like Tim Burton and actors like Wesley Snipes, Denzel Washington and Samuel L. Jackson but Michael Jai White eventually landed the lead and visual effects supervisor Mark A.Z. Dippe, who worked on Jurassic Park and T2, took the director’s seat, most likely because of the vast amount of CG needed, like Spawn’s cape and chains.  The movie was a fairly decent success at the box office but nowhere near the blockbuster New Line Cinema wanted and two planned sequels were scapped.  Todd McFarlane has been teasing a new Spawn movie for years but as of right now, this is still the only way you can see the demonic superhero in live action.  The movie is on Netflix and we’ll be watching it at the end of the month.