5.4 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Five years after he was murdered by his own colleagues in a covert government operation, Al Simmons makes a pact with the devil to be resurrected so that he may see his wife Wanda once more. In return for the favor, the devil requires, in typically Faustian fashion, that Simmons lead Hell's Army for the destruction of humankind. Blessed in life with extraordinary killing skills, Simmons is even more deadly with the backing of his new master and the changling powers he has at his disposal. As he begins to discover and exercise his new strengths, he encounters two figures who direct him to use his powers in order to serve two different agendas. Cogliostro encourages Spawn to fight the devil and become a new champion for humankind, while Clown goads Spawn into continuing to serve his new master and lead the Armageddon.
Starring: Michael Jai White, John Leguizamo, Martin Sheen, Theresa Randle, Nicol WilliamsonAction | 100% |
Comic book | 55% |
Thriller | 53% |
Horror | 51% |
Fantasy | 50% |
Supernatural | 22% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
German: Dolby Digital 5.1
Italian: Dolby Digital 2.0
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 2.0
Polish: Dolby Digital 2.0
Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0
English SDH, German SDH, Italian SDH, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Polish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 1.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Come back with me, friends. All the way back to 1992, when a rogue group of eight disgruntled comicbook artists and writers -- Todd McFarlane, Jim Lee, Erik Larsen, Marc Silvestri, Rob Liefeld, Jim Valentino, Chris Claremont and Whilce Portacio -- walked away from Marvel Comics to form their own publishing house: Image Comics. It was a bold gamble, one that paid off beyond the founders' wildest imaginations. Twenty years later, Image isn't nearly the threat to Marvel and DC that it once was, even with exciting new talent like Robert Kirkman and acclaimed books like "The Walking Dead" under its banner, but there was a time when Image seemed poised to make a full multimedia coup. And no Image comic was more critical to that attempted coup than McFarlane's "Spawn," a monthly series that, for better or worse, defied superhero convention, dealt in more darkness than most every other mainstream book of the era, and branched out into everything from action figures to collectibles, animated series, videogames and even feature films. Or rather feature film. Modest box office success or no, director Mark A.Z. Dippé's critically panned Spawn was a cheesy, misguided mess that put a serious damper on any grand franchise aspirations. And the years haven't been kind.
"Where you're going, every day's Halloween."
Grimy and grungy as it is, Spawn's1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer is commendably true to its source, flaws and all. Soft shots, oppressive shadows, muddy colors, inconsistent contrast, occasionally unnatural skintones, and bursts of unwieldy noise seem to lurk around every corner, and the film's already subpar CG sequences are racked with all manner of abnormalities and aberrations (garish artifacting, banding, and aliasing, just to name a few). That said, there's no evidence that Spawn looks any worse than it did when it was first presented in theaters. Budgetary and technological limitations, shoddy visual effects, murky cinematography... all inherited from the source, all faithful to Dippé and director of photography Guillermo Navarro's intentions. And in many ways, the rancid, rotting aesthetic suits the movie perfectly. The Blu-ray presentation certainly looks better than its 1998 DVD counterpart. After a quick comparison, I'd even go so far as to call it something of a relative revelation. Detail, though unreliable on the whole, is quite impressive at times, grain is intact and undisturbed, the print used to mint the transfer is in decidedly decent shape, black levels have all but been applied by a comicbook inker's pen, and Spawn's blood-red cape, green necroplasmic energy and blazing hellfire are remarkably potent. Moreover, I didn't see any signs of unnecessary interference or tinkering (egregious filtering, scrubbing, sharpening or any other invasive cleanup techniques). Is Spawn a good looking film? Not even when it was in its prime. Does its high definition transfer have enough redeeming qualities to satisfy fans? Absolutely. If you have any lingering love for Dippé's adaptation, Warner's efforts will slap a Violator-sized grin on your face.
The same comparison could be drawn when evaluating Spawn's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, which is so far removed from the DVD's stilted sonic experience that it's tempting to award the mix top marks and send it on its way. But the film's sound design, like its hell-spewed antihero, isn't a subtle beastie. It's loud, aggressive, forceful and... well, loud. Sheer volume trumps finesse, a cacophony of gunfire, shattering glass and energy blasts tend to pass for an action scene, and everything seems locked in a battle for supremacy. Dialogue, be it barked, growled or spit out between prosthetic lips, is clean and clear overall, and only a few voices -- Malebolgia, the Violator and, every now and then, Spawn himself -- struggle with intelligibility. The rear speakers are crackling with all sorts of activity too, they just don't leave a lot of room for convincing directional effects or smooth pans. Likewise, LFE output ranges from agitated to angry, throwing a bit too much weight behind everything it supports. Like the visuals, though, it all complements the film. Spawn's lossless track is chained to its original sound design and, in that regard, assaults the listener with the full, cheesy fury of Dippé's hellscapes just as it should.
As mangled, tortured and disfigured as its vengeful antihero, Spawn is a flawed, almost unbearable product of its time; so much so that even nostalgia can't save it from bargain bin damnation. I wasn't particularly thrilled with the film in 1997 (McFarlane's comic series was much better), but I don't remember it being this awful. Only the most loyal fans will still feel any affection, and even they may be forced to ask themselves, "what did I see in this thing fifteen years ago?" Fortunately, Warner's Blu-ray release will satisfy anyone pumped full of enough nostalgia to actually enjoy Spawn. Its supplemental package doesn't offer anything new, but its solid video transfer and able-bodied DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track put the DVD to shame. If you've never acquainted yourself with Simmons and McFarlane's battle between Heaven and Hell, stick with the comics (or HBO's short-lived animated series). If you haven't seen Spawn in a few years, approach with caution. If you've seen it recently and adore its dark, cheesy charms, then by all means add its Blu-ray release to your cart. You may be a part of a rapidly dwindling fanbase, but you'll be ecstatic with the high definition results.
1998
2012
Icons
2009
Director's Cut
2003
1989
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Extended Cut
2007
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1992
2014
Unrated | Nochnoy Dozor
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Unrated
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Director's Cut
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