Spawn

Name: Spawn
Genre: Action, Thriller, Fantasy
Released: August 1, 1997
Duration: 96 min
Rating: 34
Cast: John Leguizamo, Michael Jai White

1997

METASCORE

Generally unfavorable reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 328 Ratings

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8.1	User Score Universal acclaim based on 328 Ratings

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Spawn (Trailer 1)

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Movie Details & Credits

New Line Cinema | Release Date: August 1, 1997 | R

Starring: John Leguizamo, Michael Jai White

Summary: A government assassin is brought back to life as a black superhero with supernatural powers. (Warner Bros.)

Director: Mark A.Z. Dippé

Genre(s): Action, Thriller, Fantasy

Rating: R

Runtime: 96 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

Roger Ebert

It walks and talks like a big budget horror film, heavy on special effects and pitched at the teenage audience, and maybe that's how it will be received. But it's more impressive if you ignore the genre and just look at what's on the screen. Read full review

David Kaplan

Think Batman on crystal meth. Read full review

James Berardinelli

Unfortunately, where the movie falls apart is in the storyline. While Spawn fans may be delighted by this effort, the uninitiated may have a hard time getting beyond the fancy special effects and often-incoherent plot. Read full review

Manohla Dargis

If Spawn had anything close to a script, it would be a pretty nifty fantasy about conspiracy, apocalypse and a fat killer clown. Read full review

Rita Kempley

The nonsensical screenplay can barely stand-up to the hellzapoppin, Beelzebubbin effects mustered by first-time director Mark Dippe. Read full review

Walter Addiego

Otherwise, the movie, which borrows from a dozen pop sources and improves on none of them, is pretty much a washout. Read full review

Laura Miller

The special effects look model-shop cheesy, as if they'd been created using a handful of action figures and MacPaint, and the rest of the picture has the flat visual finish and phoned-in performances of a TV movie. Read full review

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User Reviews

Jagox2000

Mar 15, 2020

Um dos melhores filme baseado em Hq ou jogo, o palhaço da uma alivio comico nessa mundo infernal, vale a pena para quem curti o personagem

3 of 8 users found this helpful35

Exigent93

Jun 6, 2021

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3 of 4 users found this helpful31

Embalmer98

Jun 10, 2021

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1 of 2 users found this helpful11

Ulna319

May 16, 2021

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8 of 9 users found this helpful81

Sam

Oct 15, 2005

Is it a terrible movie? No. Is it an ok movie? Sure. Does it deserve the 3 and a half out of for stars that Roger Ebert gave it? Not even close.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

TheQuietGamer

Oct 2, 2017

With corny dialog and an unnecessarily convoluted plot, this comic book movie is all style and little substance. It's biggest sin however is the tonal inconsistency. The childish humor on display clashes gaudily with the moody visuals and brooding style. Had this superhero, horror movieWith corny dialog and an unnecessarily convoluted plot, this comic book movie is all style and little substance. It's biggest sin however is the tonal inconsistency. The childish humor on display clashes gaudily with the moody visuals and brooding style. Had this superhero, horror movie mashup leaned more on the latter of it's combination of genres, instead of having John Leguizamo get all irritating as the film's disappointing main villain, this could have been something to write home about. As annoying as Leguizamo is here I have to give the main credit for seemingly being the only person to really take his role seriously. The rest of the cast seems bored and resort to either under of over-acting. One could argue that these just aren't talented individuals, but when the likes of Martin Sheen are in your cast and you can't get a single human character to act believable, then you've got a serious problem going on somewhere.

Spawn really needed to lean more on it's horror elements. This tale of hell and demons is surprisingly lacking in darkness. It certainly had a heaping dose of visual panache for the time. The director really could have created some freaky crap had there been a better script that allowed for it. The CGI hasn't aged well at all though. Some of these visuals past the dated mark years ago and are just flat out embarrassing now. This mostly applies to the scenes that take place in hell. The final battle that takes place there is almost incomprehensible to the eyes at times because of how bad everything looks.

There was certainly a lot of potential here. A superhero horror movie would have been a breath of fresh air in the then still growing superhero movie scene. It would have even helped the movie stay relevant today, a time where superhero fatigue is starting to creep into moviegoers lives. Unfortunately, instead of frights we got fart jokes. Once you consider that along with the poor acting and writing, and it's not hard to see why this movie might be for only the most forgiving of Spawn fans.… Expand

0 of 9 users found this helpful09

imthenoob

Jul 23, 2021

If it were so cheesy it was good, I could understand giving it a high rating but it simply isn't good. The movie looks awful, is painfully slow, and features some god-awful acting. This is everything that Spawn shouldn't be.

0 of 6 users found this helpful06

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31	#31 Most Discussed Movie of 1997
19	#19 Most Shared Movie of 1997