Spawn is based on the hugely popular comic book from the hugely arrogent Todd McFarlane. It deals with a CIA hitman, Al Simmons, who is killed by his boss, then makes a deal with the Devil to lead his army on Earth (when the time comes) so that he can rejoin his wife, Wanda, in the mortal realm. Well, five years later Al returns horribly scarred, only to find himself with unspeakable power, and his wife married to his best friend. Then theres that fat clown following him around, tormenting him. Al remebers little about his time in hell, and thinks he made a mistake in agreeing to lead Satan's army. Guided by a centuries old hellspawn, Al learns that his destiny need not be dictated by his deal, and he takes revenge on his CIA boss (who also made a deal with the devil to rule the world), and fights a monterous demon in hell to free his soul.
While not a classic movie by any means, Spawn is a great story which focuses more on the human element than physical conflict. Classifying it into one genre is impossible. It is all at once a horror film, an action film, and a drama. Acting by Michael Jai White in the lead role and Martin Sheen as his human opponent, is done well, with not the slightest bit of ham or contempt for the role apparent. It is John Leguizamo as the Violator Clown who steals the show, with an outragous and creepy performance, providing the torment and mystical opposition to Spawn/Simmons. The main problem with the film involves the sequences in Hell, where the entire scene blends in with eachother, making it rather difficult to observe the characters' movements. The final battle is particularily confusing with constantly moving camera angles and pans. The conflict is almost unwatchable. But still, Spawn is the first true comic-book to film adaptation, and sets a good precedence for other films to follow.