[.ca] Spawn: Director's Cut (Widescreen) (ISBN 6304712499)

From Amazon.com:
After being murdered for quitting his role as a ruthless yet moral government assassin, Al Simmons (Michael Jai White) is sent to Hell, where he makes a pact with the demon Malebolgia--if Simmons is allowed see his lover, Wanda, again, he will agree to lead the demon's armies to storm the gates of Heaven. Transformed into a superhuman entity with shape-shifting powers and quick regeneration capabilities, Simmons (soon to be dubbed "Spawn" by Malebolgia's crony, The Violator) returns to Earth and attempts to reunite with Wanda, not knowing that five years have passed. He also seeks revenge on his former boss and killer, Jason Wynn (Martin Sheen), who has made a deal with The Violator to develop a lethal virus to take over the world, where Wynn is promised to be king. Spawn wages an inner battle between good and evil as he tries to come to terms with selling his soul and what it could mean for humankind. Despite excellent effects and great potential, Spawn seems to come up short. While White certainly displays verve in his characterization of the twisted hero, he cannot overcome some forced dialogue. On the flip side, the usually engaging John Leguizamo portrays the sinister Violator--an evil monster masquerading as a rotund, weird-looking clown--as an irritating lackey who spews overbearing sarcasm and incessantly banal one-liners. Admitted, many of Spawn's action sequences are fun, and the transitions effectively brisk, but more could have been done to explore how Simmons grapples with his humanity in these daunting circumstances. But if you want sizzling action sequences and digital effects, this film should keep you happy. --Bryan Reesman

Will This Film Spawn Another Sequel? Let's Hope Not!:
Dreary and forgettable "super(anti-)hero" flick based upon Todd McFarland's comicbook character. SPAWN is an interesting antihero, but ultimately the background and origin of the character which manifests repeatedly during the film depresses the movie. He is a hell-spawned creature given a chance to live outside of damnation by becoming an agent of hell and walk among the living. This is heavy-handed and boggs down the the story and Spawn himself. If Batman's origin which also manifests throughout the course of the history of the character (his parents get murdered in front of him) is a downer, Spawn's is just too much depressing. The visual special effects that depict the hellish atmosphere are graphic and detailed. However, who wants to be reminded of going to hell every second of the movie. Then there is John Leguizamo as "Clown" playing one of the most annoying characters in recent cinema history (up there with Jar Jar Binks). Finally, Spawn pining over losing his wife and seeing her married to, and having a child with another man (his best friend of all people)is another depressing aspect of the movie. Only thing noteworthy is seeing a rare film appearance by actor Nicol Williamson (EXCALIBUR)as Cogliostro, Spawn's mentor. Overall,a Grade B flick that has no universal appeal whatsoever. SPAWN's main theme is death and hell (not necessarily in that order), with a depressing title character, a depressing origin,depressing plot and story, depressing looking visuals of the afterlife, and one annoying Clown (Leguizamo).

VERY DISSAPOINTED!:
I have bin collecting spawn comix for 9 years and I really thought this movie was gonna rock when it came out in theaters. BOY WAS I WRONG. THE FILM IS HORRIBLE. 1 STAR FOR SPECIAL EFFECTS 2 STAR FOR THE CAST MEMBERS WHO COULD HAVE MADE THIS A BIG FILM. WHY TODD WHY?!!! You should have directed this film and well, we sure as HELL would have expected a hard R but who the hell got this guy to direct it? They could have made this movie big and they messed it up. When I saw the R rated versian of the film I was like...WHAT THE HELL?...THERE WAS NOTHING R ABOUT THAT. YOU JUST SEE A FRIGGIN' HOLE IN A WOMANS HEAD....OH YEAH....AND INSTEAD OF THE LINE HE SAID IN ONE OF HIS BATTLES IT got changed to holy s**t...THAT WAS PRETTY MUCH IT! I thought the violator was gonna rip the homles kids dad apart. NOT SHAKE HIM AROUND AND SLAM HIM TO THE WALL! This is not how spawn is in the comics. The comic is very dark and mature. Same with the series on HBO. The HBO series makes up for it so go watch that. I read that columbia or paramount is gonna produce spawnII and Todd Mcfarlane is gonna' direct it! YAAAAAAAAAAAA! Later....

This movie was great, but it needed some time to be finished:
Spawn is a great, big and dark charecter, i still think they should've taken their time to finish this movie rather than casting quick and not polishing up the special effects. Other than that, a legendary comic charecter has been brought to life, so no more reading, watch the damn movie.

Spawn is different, original, sophisticated and intelligent:
While most would agree that "Spawn" had potential but never truly amounted to anything much...I would have to disagree. When the film first found its way into theaters in 1997, most critics gave this flick 7 out of 10 stars. It really wasn't as dreadful as I had anticipated. To begin with, Spawn is a wonderful, exciting creation, created by Canada's own: Todd McFarland. The story of "Spawn" centres around Al Simmons, the highest-trained assasin for the CIA, the coldest of cold-blooded killers whose sole mission is to serve his country. When his superior betrays him, in exchange for a Heat-16 device, that when triggered will blow the world to oblivion, in order to dominate the world, his soul is sent directly to Hell where he is told in order to regain whatever is left of his humanity, his identity and his wife, he must lead Satan's army in the bid to kick-start the Apocalypse. Satan's lieutenant, his right-hand "clown", fuels his anger in a bid to direct it toward Jason Wynn, in an attempt to have him killed setting off the Heat-16 device, starting the Apocalypse. Wynn is told Spawn is a supernatural creature that must be stopped so he can take control of the world and gain all its riches, not letting him get in the way. Satan's bid is to pit one against the other, so His plans to created the Eden of Armageddon on Earth. Spawn is left with the choice of having to fight his inner demons and use his supernatural abilities to overcome whatever evil has begot him. The central point that needs to be emphasized is that Spawn is a character who has to find a way to save the world, regain his life, without "selling-out" by doing Satan's bidding. By letting his anger "get to" him, Satan can only use that against him, never fulfilling His promise of having him returned to his wife and a normal human life. He must find a way of destroying the Heat-16 device, without destroying humanity, therefore not causing Armageddon. He must channel his thoughts and actions into positivity, where he can focus using his abilities to better humanity without causing too much damage and teach Satan a most valuable lesson: He must do his own "dirty" work himself if he cares that much to kick-start the Apocalypse! Satan is the ultimate coward in this film. Spawn is the true winner because he has lost a seemingly "normal" life, must rebuild from the beginning to find his identity and his true meaning in life, all the while fighting Satan and his lieutenant, accept that the woman he loves can no longer be with him and still try to find peace within himself. Unlike, Superman, Spiderman or Batman...Spawn is not "clean-cut" nor "pure". He is flawed, he has much learning to do, the creator, as he claimed in the DVD Special Features, did great justice and exemplified true fairness in creating a superhero that did not confine to the stereotype of what superheroes should look or be like. He was not a rich man who owns millions of dollars and owns most if not all of a city (Batman) from whom we can all get something...He does not come from another planet (Superman) who is seemingly human except for the fact he has powers...and He was not bitten by a Spider and given magical spider abilities. Spawn/Al Simmons was a just a man working, serving his wife, living life day-by-day, believing he was doing right and trying to make the best of the torment he gained as a result of killing in the name of "good". Spawn teaches us and shows us that even killing in the name of "good" draws you toward the "dark" side and that we must, all at some point in our lives, find ways of not succumbing to it. This character has so much depth, and inner torment, and it's this flaw that makes him so exhilarating to watch and follow. After having watched this flick both when it was released in theatres and on DVD, I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially when I re-examined the character over and over again. There were wonderful performances by Theresa Randle, D.B. Sweeney, Martin Sheen and of course Michael Jai White. The pacing was reasonably well organized, the cinematography, some of the best of seen and the special effects are first rate. The only thing that could have been more developed was Spawn's deep-rooted anguish toward life, himself and the loss of his humanity, and having to strife to make sense of his super-powers. I thought this movie was actually deserving of a sequel. I do agree that the animated series is amazing and more faithful to the comics...but for an action-packed flick, "Spawn" does deliver...I believe that for most the intelligence required to truly understand the depth of such a character can be quite trying. My rating: Very Very Good.

Great!:
This is very nice movie... filled with great FX... BUT beware! it doesn't have any Spanish subtitles!!! as announced here at Amazon.