After watching Spawn, I felt disappointed. Maybe my expectations were too high, as the comic is not easy to adapt at all, but this film could have been so much better than it was. But to no avail, there are actually some redeeming qualities, which I'd better start with before explaining what I found wrong with Spawn.
First of all, an unrecognisable John Leguizamo is absolutely brilliant as the Clown, while over the top, it was almost very sinister and sadistic, somewhat reminiscent of Pennywise and the Joker. The extremely graphic and violent images, helped by clever zooms and decent special effects were also very well done. I also liked the cameo from Sam and Twitch at the end, which will be likely to please fans of the comic.
However, there are a lot of things that didn't work. I for one found the soundtrack intrusive and generic, and while the visuals were great the direction for me was not, it needed a little more subtlety. While Leguizamo's clown has some delicious lines that is delivered with relish, the rest of the script is very weak. Also while I had no problem whatsoever with Leguizamo, I cannot say the same for the remainder of the cast. Martin Sheen is given very little to do as Wynn, while all Michael Jai White manages to do is act brooding, instead he forgets to act. Plus Nicol Williamson's voice over did nothing for me, it felt somewhat tacked on. Then we have a story that is too rushed with some unintentionally laughable parts like the Devil and the disastrous lip synching and the climax to put it bluntly is a bit of a mess, then again I wasn't expecting a perfect climax considering how little character development there was.
Overall, has redeeming qualities, but a big disappointment overall. 4/10 Bethany Cox
First of all, an unrecognisable John Leguizamo is absolutely brilliant as the Clown, while over the top, it was almost very sinister and sadistic, somewhat reminiscent of Pennywise and the Joker. The extremely graphic and violent images, helped by clever zooms and decent special effects were also very well done. I also liked the cameo from Sam and Twitch at the end, which will be likely to please fans of the comic.
However, there are a lot of things that didn't work. I for one found the soundtrack intrusive and generic, and while the visuals were great the direction for me was not, it needed a little more subtlety. While Leguizamo's clown has some delicious lines that is delivered with relish, the rest of the script is very weak. Also while I had no problem whatsoever with Leguizamo, I cannot say the same for the remainder of the cast. Martin Sheen is given very little to do as Wynn, while all Michael Jai White manages to do is act brooding, instead he forgets to act. Plus Nicol Williamson's voice over did nothing for me, it felt somewhat tacked on. Then we have a story that is too rushed with some unintentionally laughable parts like the Devil and the disastrous lip synching and the climax to put it bluntly is a bit of a mess, then again I wasn't expecting a perfect climax considering how little character development there was.
Overall, has redeeming qualities, but a big disappointment overall. 4/10 Bethany Cox