Al Simmons (Michael Jai White), a government assassin, is murdered at the command of his boss, Jason Wynn (Martin Sheen). He returns from Hell five years later, horribly burned but with superpowers. He wishes only to see his wife (Theresa Randle) and to seek revenge. Hell has other ideas, and using a demonic clown (John Leguizamo) to prod him, Al may end up starting Armageddon and leading the armies of hell.
Spawn is a film version of one of the most innovative comic book series of recent years. Too bad there’s nothing innovative on the screen. Spawn pieces together bits from better, though not good, films (Darkman, Batman Forever), using CGI as the glue. I suppose this could be watchable if the CGI looked good or the stolen routines were engaging, but neither is true. There’s some nice cape effects and Spawn’s moving chains are excellent, but Hell looks like a mid-level video game.
Dragging the film down are overlong angst scenes (which lead to nothing—Al whines for a while, then goes off to kill things) and the annoying clown. I’ll give points for Leguizamo putting everything in to the role, but that just ends up being loud. I guess he’s meant to be funny, but I can’t imagine anyone finding anything to laugh at in his tired old jokes and insults. The character also hurts the plot as his every move drives Al away from his bargain with Hell. Martin Sheen also takes the “no action is too broad” approach, playing his part like a carnival barker, shouting out each line. I have no idea who the needless and cliché-ridden narration was supposed to appeal to, but then the film is filled with lots of explanatory dialog. The story isn’t all that tricky that it needs step-by-step annotation.
While the comic is edgy, this is a kid’s film with a bit of violence to make it appear fit for some strange faction of teens that find a graphic novel too challenging. It isn’t fit for anyone else. Try the animated version instead.