Rating: C+
Dir: Mark Dippe
Star: Michael Jai White, John Leguizamo, Martin Sheen, Theresa Randle
We in Britain have yet to get the HBO animated version, but until that turns up, this live-action adaptation, though toned down, will give you the general flavour. Spawn is a dead Government assassin, now press-ganged into Hell’s army and with a role to play in triggering Armageddon, unless he can hold on to some of his humanity. It’s vaguely ‘Crow’-like, as Spawn seeks revenge on those who killed him, with a heavily Gothic feel (he spends a lot of time brooding around a church), and a LOT of computer graphic effects — of variable success, Spawn’s cape is spiffy, but the final battle in Hell… Oh, dear. Leguizamo is almost unrecognisable as a Satanic mentor, but stands out despite his handicaps, and Nicol Williamson seems to think he’s still in Excalibur. Pity they killed off the femme fatale after half an hour though. A lot of cool bits never quite gel into anything totally worthwhile – best to wait for the animation, which is grimmer, tougher and harder-edged, then come back to this for a different take on the story.