Dr. K's Waiting Room

Released: 1 August 1997
Director: Mark A.Z. Dippé
Distributor: New Line Cinema / Todd McFarlane Entertainment
Budget: $40 to 45 million
Stars: Michael Jai White, John Leguizamo, Martin Sheen, Melinda Clarke, and Nicol Williamson

The Plot:
United States Marine Force Recon Lieutenant Colonel and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative Al Simmons (White) is betrayed and murdered by his employer, Jason Wynn (Sheen), and his enforcer, Jessica Priest (Clarke). After agreeing to lead Hell’s armies, Simmons returns heavily-scarred and bound to a symbiotic suit, but determined to avenge himself.

The Background:
After cutting his teeth in the comic book industry with Coyote, avid artist Todd McFarlane made a name for himself by revitalising The Amazing Spider-Man with his signature art style. However, McFarlane grew dissatisfied with his lack of creative control at Marvel and formed his own independent comic book publisher, Image Comics, alongside other Marvel creatives, in 1992. At the forefront of this was Spawn, a hellborn anti-hero first sketched by McFarlane as a teenager. Spawn #1 was an immediate hit; its 1.7 million sales set records and made it the most successful creator-owned comic of all-time. Naturally, Hollywood was eager to capitalise on this success, with McFarlane eventually selling the rights to New Line Cinema for a mere $1 in exchange for creative input and merchandising rights. New Line president Michael De Luca, himself a comic book fan, was eager to remain true to the source material while reaching a wider audience with a PG-13 rating and brought in Alan B. McElroy to pen the script. Attracted to Simmons’ tragic backstory, martial artist-turned-actor Michael Jai White eagerly signed on, enduring hours in the make-up chair and stuck in uncomfortable prosthetics. He didn’t suffer alone though as co-star John Leguizamo suffered from claustrophobia and heat exhaustion to be transformed into the Violator’s diminutive Clown form. Most of the film’s budget was naturally spent on digital effects, courtesy of Industrial Light & Magic, which included a digital rendition of Hell, digitally bringing Spawn’s living cape to life, and the creation of both an animatronic and CGI representation of the Violator’s true, demonic form. Unfortunately, a box office return of just over $87 million meant Spawn failed to match the success of the comic book. The movie was widely panned, criticised for its muddled plot and overreliance on special effects, though Leguizamo’s performance and some visual aspects have been praised. Michael Jai White was dissatisfied with the film, and a sequel was quickly halted. Since then, rumours of a reboot have persisted, with McFarlane constantly claiming that an R-rated reimagining is in the works, only to run into dead ends each time.

The Review:
Spawn immediately gets off to a bit of a bad start by presenting a chronological tale. One of the appeals of the original comic was its disjointed narrative; Simmons was dumped on Earth with fragmented memories and slowly pieced together his background over many issues. Hell, new revelations were being revealed and retconned in years after he first appeared, which added extra layers to his character and tragedy. Instead, Spawn spends some time with Simmons, a callous and deathly efficient CIA operative who meticulously and ruthlessly eliminates his targets. However, Simmons isn’t some cold-hearted killing machine; he has a conscience and is enraged when his latest mission causes the deaths of innocent bystanders. Later flashbacks show that his beloved wife, Wanda Blake (Theresa Randle), feared his life as a glorified assassin was slowly stripping him of his humanity and this, coupled with Director Jason Wynn’s increasing disregard for collateral damage, drives Simmons to bluntly state his intentions to resign his commission. While his rival, the sadistic Jessica Priest, scoffs at this and mocks Al’s decision, Wynn seemingly accepts his resignation on the condition that he completes one last mission for A-6, the counterterrorism offshoot of the CIA that Wynn commands. This mission sees Simmons sent to North Korea to destroy an extremely dangerous biological weapon. However, he finds the facility has already been rigged to blow and is blindsided by Wynn and Priest. Wounded and doused in flammable liquid, Simmons is helpless to keep the two from blowing the factory and spreading their pathogen to a nearby town, infecting and killing thousands to engineer “Heat-16”, a particularly aggressive virus that Wynn plots to use to manipulate the world’s governments into bowing to his every whim.

In a flash of burning fire, Simmons awakens in a dank, filthy alley – Rat City – wracked with pain and covered in horrendous burns. Here, he’s immediately accosted by young Zack (Miko Hughes) and the mysterious Nicholas Cogliostro (Nicol Williamson). Confused and disoriented, Simmons heads home, only to discover that five years have passed and that Wanda is now married to his best friend, Terry Fitzgerald (Sweeney), who now acts as A-6 public relations correspondent. Wanda and Terry also have a young daughter, Cyan (Sydni Beaudoin), and have found a happiness that no longer includes Al. Tormented by heartbreak and agony, Simmons is hounded by the rancid Clown (Leguizamo), who delights in Al’s pain and takes great pleasure in jogging his memory by transporting him to his gravesite. Simmons learns he was burned alive and blown up by Wynn and, for his many murderous actions, sent to Hell. There, the gigantic demon, Malebolgia (Frank Welker), promised to “let [him] see Wanda again” if he agreed to lead Hell’s armies against the forces of Heaven. Desperate to be reunited with his love, Simmons readily agreed, only to miss out on five years and be bonded to a symbiotic, “Necroplasmic” armour. This painfully emerges from his scarified skin and sprouts chains, a ridiculously large CGI cape, and heals any wounds near instantly. Dubbed “Spawn”, Simmons is left festering with rage at Wynn’s betrayal and immediately arms himself to get revenge, despite Cogliostro warning that giving in to anger and Hell’s whims will only make things worse for him (and, indeed, the entire world). True to the source material, Simmons struggles to reconcile his newfound life. He angrily rejects Zack and Cogliostro (while also being disgusted by the Clown) and even accuses Terry of betraying him, only to eventually learn that he’s part of a far bigger (and unnecessarily convoluted) plot by Hell to bolster their forces. Michael Jai White does a decent enough job in the title role; he certainly looks the part, especially in his comic accurate suit. However, his line deliveries often leave a lot to be desired and the nature of the suit means he gets few opportunities to show off his fighting prowess, so Spawn’s fantastical abilities are often disregarded in favour of simple gunfights.

Although he prefers to work alone in his vendetta, Spawn has some allies to both steer him in the right direction and appeal to what’s left of his humanity. Zack, a homeless child left scrounging through rubbish for rotting food alongside his abrasive father, Glen (Michael Papajohn), immediately offers Simmons aid and tries to befriend him. While Spawn repeatedly rebukes him, he defends Zack when Glen gets a bit too handsy and eventually opens up to the boy, entrusting him to care for his dog, Spaz, and is guilt-ridden when his battle with the Clown’s true demonic form, the Violator, causes Glen’s death (among others). Spawn is mentored by vague former Arthurian Knight turned Hellspawn, Cogliostro, a wise (if cryptic) old man who pleads with Simmons to let go of his anger, and his former life, and embrace his new destiny as Spawn, while also turning that hell-born power against his demonic creators. While he mainly observes and offers ambiguous advice, Cogliostro has enough Necroplasm left to conjure a sword and even fights alongside Spawn in the finale. Pained to see Wanda, Terry, and Cyan as a loving, happy family, Simmons largely distances himself from them both because of his horrific appearance and because he’s determined to kill Wynn. Still, he befriends Cyan, finding her sympathetic to his plight, and Terry aids him by association by using his high-ranking position to earn Wynn’s trust and obtain incriminating evidence regarding his Heat-16 plot. Still, Simmons is haunted by memories of and his love for Wanda; flashbacks portray them as a loving couple, and he literally sells his soul just to see her again. However, as attractive as Melinda Clarke is, she’s easily the weakest part of the film. In the five-year time skip, Wanda has been advocating to help the children affected by the incident in North Korea, but her address is so dry and her delivery so robotic that it impacts her relationships with other characters. Sydni Beaudoin is similarly cringe-worthy as Cyan but I can forgive a young child for struggling and, ironically, the relationship between Wanda and Cyan was the only one I believed in. She has little onscreen chemistry with Al or Terry, meaning the core emotional hook of Spawn’s journey fell flat for me and left me with an angry, stubborn soldier wielding incredible powers.

Spawn’s target is Jason Wynn, the gruff, boisterous director of A-6 with designs for world domination. He colludes with the Clown to kill off Simmons, his best operative, and create Heat-16, a pathogen he uses to strong-arm governments into joining his “consortium” but which Hell plans to unleash to wipe the Earth clear for conquest. At Clown’s suggestion, Wynn has a heart monitor installed, ensuring that he cannot be assassinated without unleashing the virus, though he’s unaware that the Clown is purposely riling Spawn up specifically so that he’ll kill Wynn and set off the bomb. Why, exactly the Clown doesn’t kill Wynn or set off the bomb himself is beyond me but Wynn, for all his authority and intellect, unquestionably follows Hell’s orders, believing he’ll rule the world for his obedience. He’s joined by Priest, a highly killed assassin in her own right, but she’s quickly felled by Spawn when she defends Wynn. Thus, Spawn’s greatest physical challenge is the Clown, a belligerent and vile creature who constantly badgers Spawn, spitting threats that Simmons laughs off until the squat antagonist transforms into a towering, slobbering demon and attacks him in Rat City. Seemingly able to teleport and showcasing superior physical strength and durability, the Violator easily trounces Spawn, leaving him impaled on a railing, and promises to kill him if he ever steps out of line. The Clown is jealous of Spawn’s high standing in Hell’s army and wishes to prove himself superior in Malebolgia’s eyes, though acquiesces to his demonic overlord’s orders out of fear of reprisal, which only fuels his antagonistic relationship with Simmons. Leguizamo is the film’s highlight, relishing the Clown’s sadistic, spiteful demeanour with a devilish glee and chewing the scenery at every opportunity. Malebolgia is correctly positioned as the mastermind behind the film’s events, but has little direct influence on Earth; instead, he acts through the Clown, who in turn manipulates Wynn. While the Violator is the Devil’s primary agent on Earth, Simmons openly opposes and rejects Malebolgia. However, it takes him some time to realise that, while he thinks he’s acting independently in targeting Wynn, he’s actually playing right into Malebolgia’s hands and needs to choose a different path to make the most of his hell-given powers.

The Nitty-Gritty:
If, for some reason, you’re confused by Spawn’s premise, the movie has you covered. The unnecessarily mysterious Cogliostro is on hand to provide both an opening and closing narration, interludes, and even describe what’s happening onscreen at various points. Then, he and the Clown and even the Devil himself, constantly reiterate both the plot, the details of Spawn’s powers, and the deal Simmons made to be returned from the underworld. After a while, it feels a bit like padding and gets quite insulting. After all, the premise is extremely simple (former soldier is betrayed, murdered, sent to Hell, and returns with funky powers) so it baffles me that we need so much exposition. The film’s pacing is woefully disjointed; I can’t help but think the narrative would’ve been better served by telling the story out of sequence, like The Crow (Proyas, 1994). Skipping Cogliostro’s obnoxious narration and opening with Simmons awakening in Rat City, only to be tormented by fragmented memories of his former life and then experiencing more complete flashbacks as the film progresses, would’ve better captured the mystery so prevalent in the source material. The film is also shot like a music video; while the kinetic editing calms for exposition, the camera is all over the place during action scenes. Insufferable jump cuts and a barrage of demonic imagery are thrown at the viewer for scene transitions or tossed in whenever we need another reminder of what happened to Simmons and what his motivations are. Characters also not only routinely narrate their actions, but Terry even interacts with a touchscreen computer that helpfully displays and announces his surreptitious actions. Some scenes also appear to be missing from the final film, resulting in Spawn speeding through Cogliostro’s training without so much as a montage and Wynn inexplicably sporting a broken wrist for the finale.

It’s a shame as there are some instances where the film really impresses, at least visually. Rat City is suitably desolate, rainswept, and gothic, perfectly capturing Spawn’s unkempt dwellings from the comic books. Spawn himself also looks fantastic and, thankfully, spends most of the film garbed in his slick, sticky armour. While he looks best when his glaring mask envelops his scarified face, the make-up effects used to bring Al’s burns to life are very impressive and make the actor barely recognisable. Unfortunately, as good as Spawn’s suit looks, its abilities aren’t featured all that much. Mostly, he sprouts spikes and chains as a defensive measure and his cape is entirely absent except in dire emergencies or to give us bad-ass (if dated) shots of Spawn brooding or sweeping into action. There are a few offhand warnings that draining his power will kill Spawn, but no visual indicator of how limited his abilities are like in the comics. Simmons breezes through Cogliostro’s training and quickly masters the suit, conjuring solid armour during his explosive motorcycle chase with the Clown rather than the suit instinctively hiding him or flying him from danger. When in Hell, Spawn unleashes a barrage of Necroplasmic lasers to eliminate most of Malebolgia’s forces and even uses eye beams to extract Wynn’s heart monitor, but it appears the effects budget ran out at this point as these are poorly executed. Similarly, Hell itself is an unsightly mishmash of flaming rocks, lava plumes, screaming Hellspawn hoards, and an absolutely abhorrent CGI rendition of Malebolgia that apparently replaced a far more impressive puppet. The Devil’s mouth doesn’t even move, for God’s sake, and the film just looks like an early PlayStation cutscene whenever the action shifts to Hell. Again, it’s a shame as the Violator looks fantastic (thanks, in part, to also having an animatronic counterpart). The Clown’s transformation is suitably gruesome and it’s clear more time, effort, and money went into animating the Violator, which looks like Todd McFarlane’s artwork come to life. Sadly, he’s only onscreen for one brief fight scene in the alley, a confusing acid trip of a Hell fight, and a surprise jump scare at the end.

So, yeah… Hell’s plot was to recruit Simmons before “the other side” since he somehow has the largest kill count in human history and is the perfect candidate to lead Malebolgia’s armies. Malebolgia then immediately ensured Spawn would defy him by screwing him over, then had Clown manipulate Wynn into creating a genocidal pathogen that they want Spawn to unleash by taking his revenge, for some reason. It’s all a bit confusing, needlessly so, but the thrust is that they’re trying to foster Spawn’s hatred and anger and strip him of his morality and humanity. Although he tethers on the edge of fulfilling this destiny, Spawn is pulled back from the brink by Cogliostro, Zack, and the happiness Wanda and Terry have found with Cyan. Still, his love for Wanda is so strong that he speeds to her house to save her from the Clown, who shows up with Wynn to take the Fitzgeralds hostage. There, Wynn threatens Wanda at knifepoint to force Simmons into reaffirming his allegiance to Hell and stabs her when he hesitates, causing Spawn to fly into a rage. Despite having seen the love of his life killed, Spawn opts not to kill Wynn and simply removes and destroys his heart monitor, ending his threat. However, it turns out to have been another double cross as the Clown was masquerading as Wanda and gleefully pulls Spawn and Cogliostro into Hell for a big, blurry CGI fight scene. There, the two Hellspawn fend off the Violator and Spawn finally rejects Malebolgia, eradicating most of his army and fleeing in a burst of Necroplasm, only for the Violator to appear one last time to try and bite Spawn’s head off. However, thanks to Cogliostro’s training, Spawn skewers the Violator and then beheads him with his chains, reducing the Clown to “a little head” and sending him back to Hell. Finally accepting that his old life is gone, Spawn seemingly agrees to take up Cogliostro’s fight, returning to Rat City and watching over the city like a dark protector, ready to oppose Hell should it ever try to resurface.

The Summary:
My first introduction to Spawn was when I was a pre-teen; a friend of mine randomly had a Violator action figure and the design obviously stuck with me because I recognised it in the Spawn trailer and was super excited to see the film at the cinema at the time. I remember enjoying the film as a kid and, for the longest time, I had a soft spot for it due to my deep love for the character, but Spawn hasn’t aged well at all. The visual effects are all over the place (and, I suspect, too ambitious even at the time), presenting a cartoonish version of Hell and a horrendous representation of Malebolgia that drags the film down considerably. This is juxtaposed with a fantastic recreation of Spawn’s suit and an impressive CGI and animatronic Violator. I can even defend Spawn’s terrible CGI cape, but none of these aspects make up for the shoddy CGI elsewhere. Even if the effects were up to scratch, the pacing and narrative is all over the place. Often resembling a frantic music video, Spawn is an almost insulting barrage of visuals and exposition that spells everything out to the audience like they’re children. The performances are similarly disjointed: John Leguizamo is the obvious standout, embodying the role with a rancid glee, and Martin Sheen desperately tries to elevate the material. But Michael Jai White falters as a leading man and Theresa Randle fails to impress as Wanda. I just didn’t buy into their chemistry or their relationship, which is the entire crux of Spawn’s motivation. It’s a shame as the film is a pretty accurate adaptation of at least the early days of the comic book and occasionally brings Todd McFarlane’s artwork to life with impressive fidelity. The rocking soundtrack fits with the quasi-gothic/urban setting and I enjoyed seeing Spawn in action but seeing him rely on toothless gunfire and stumble through what should be emotionally impactful moments hurts my enjoyment. In the end, it’s a decent effort but relies too much on nonsensical, explosive action, terribly dated CGI, and frantic, disjointed editing, bombarding the audience with clunky exposition and failing to hold together under close (or even cursory) scrutiny.

My Rating:

Could Be Better

What did you think to Spawn? Were you a fan of the character back in the day? Did the constant exposition and barrage of visuals also put you off? Were you also disappointed by some of the performances? Do you think the plot was needlessly convoluted and muddied? What did you think to Spawn’s suit, the Violator effect, and John Leguizamo’s turn as the Clown? Do you think we’ll see a live-action reboot before the heat death of the universe? Whatever you think about Spawn share your thoughts in the comments and take a look at my other Spawn content.