Spawn

Spawn - The Director's Cut (New Line Platinum Series)

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

Todd McFarlane's Spawn: Animated Collection (4pc)

Evil begets evil. Hell begets hellspawn. Exploding from the comic book page onto the screen Spawn is a deadly tornado of untapped unwrapped merciless power. He was once a man...now he's a hellspawn battling the forces of evil on earth...and in himself. Gradually discovering the terrifying power he possesses Spawn fights to uncover the truth about his identity and fulfill his destiny.Running Time: 540 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ANIMATION/ADULT SWIM UPC: 026359425325 Manufacturer No: 94253

Todd McFarlane's Spawn 2 (Uncut Collector's Edition) (Animated Series)

From the mind of comic-book maestro Todd MacFarlane comes the second season of episodes of the animated Spawn. Highly stylized animation and provocative story lines make Spawn a sophisticated cartoon sometimes more appropriate for older audiences. Murder victim Al Simmons has returned from hell to earth as a "hellspawn," a soldier for the army of darkness sent to collect more souls for hell. The injustice of his death and his former life as a dedicated husband throws a wrench into hell's plan--Spawn remembers his human life and fights the inclination to do evil. Still, he is vengeful and he walks the line between killing for justice and just plain killing.

In these episodes, Spawn meets the man who assassinated him and becomes suspect of the organization that ordered him killed. Jason Wynn, the leader of the group, has plans to sell weapons of mass destruction stolen from the military. Spawn's former wife Wanda has since remarried Terry Fitzgerald, with whom Spawn must reconcile. Terry is hot on the trail of the missing arms, and Wynn and his assassins, including the highly trained Merrick, set out to kill Terry, Wanda, and their daughter Cyan. Spawn foils the plot while realizing the hard truth that Wanda has a new life. Spawn 2 is the slick and darkly realized animated adaptation of the popular comic book of the same name. It features the voice talents of Keith David (Spawn), who appeared in Dead Presidents, Denise Poirier (Merrick), and John Rafter Lee (Wynn), who also is the voice of Aeon Flux and Trevor Goodchild in the popular animated series Aeon Flux. --Shannon Gee

Todd McFarlane's hell-spawn returns to battle the forces of evil on earth in this powerful feature-length installment of SPAWN. How can you avenge betrayal and murder? How can you fight for right in a world so steeped in evil? How can you protect those you love most from all that can do them harm? No man living - or dead - can tell you. But one trapped between both is struggling for an answer that can save the lives of his most beloved, or plunge the world into eternal darkness. The cloak and chains of Spawn explode from the comic book onto the screen in a deadly tornado of untapped, unwrapped, merciless power.

Todd McFarlane's Spawn 3 - The Ultimate Battle (Animated Series)

A terrifying whirlwind is sucking the earth dry dragging all caught in its spiral down to the very depths of hell. Todd McFarlane's SPAWN at last stands alone torn between heaven and hell. From Hell the evil forces that control his destiny beckon. And from Heaven bounty hunters whose soul mission is the destruction of hellspawn have been sent to destroy him. Beautiful seductive deadly. No man can resist them. No hellspawn can survive them.Running Time: 156 min.System Requirements:Running Time: 150 Min. Color. This film is presented in "Standard" format. Copyright 1999 Warner Home Video.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY Rating:  UPC: 026359158926

Todd McFarlane's Spawn
Adult, stylish, and more than a little mean, this full-length animated tale has one very strong thing going for it--it knows how to milk "cool." The animation is superior to anything recently devoted to a superhero...or super-antihero, in this case. Al Simmons was a government assassin before he was burned to death and sent to hell (plot summary's starting out nicely, isn't it?). After making a particularly bad deal with the devil--to lead Satan's dark armies in exchange for seeing his wife again--Spawn is let loose upon the world. He immediately whacks three mob hit men, making his presence known and getting himself into all sorts of trouble. Spawn is also visited by the Clown, an obese, disgusting Beatrice, guiding our third-degree-burned Dante through this hellish, topside world. There are other nasty characters, but in this first segment a very gratuitous inclusion of a child murderer goes too far for even this mature fare. Spawn isn't fun; there's very little joy in any of this. But the point isn't fun--it's brutal, adult-comic style. And there's plenty of it. --Keith Simanton

Todd McFarlane's Spawn 2
From the mind of comic-book maestro Todd McFarlane comes the second season of episodes of the animated Spawn. Highly stylized animation and provocative story lines make Spawn a sophisticated cartoon sometimes more appropriate for older audiences. Murder victim Al Simmons has returned from hell to earth as a "hellspawn," a soldier for the army of darkness sent to collect more souls for hell. In these episodes, Spawn meets the man who assassinated him and becomes suspicious of the organization that ordered him killed. Jason Wynn, the leader of the group, plans to sell weapons of mass destruction stolen from the military. Spawn's former wife, Wanda, has since remarried Terry Fitzgerald, with whom Spawn must reconcile. Terry is hot on the trail of the missing arms, and Wynn and his assassins, including the highly trained Merrick, set out to kill Terry, Wanda, and their daughter, Cyan. Spawn foils the plot while realizing the hard truth that Wanda has a new life. --Shannon Gee

Spawn 3: The Ultimate Battle
The third chapter of this compelling HBO miniseries answers a number of questions--namely, who is the omnipotent old man who hides in the shadows and why is the mysterious Asian reporter (Jade) investigating the alley murders? Spawn has reached a crossroads, and he must choose between the forces of darkness and light. But it's not clear-cut: Al (Spawn) must deliberate over the seemingly minor differences that separate heaven and hell in his world. As a former assassin for the NSA, he "opened the eyes of hell" with his iniquitous deeds of depravity; therefore, his journey to hell was preordained. But this particular section of the series intriguingly asks, What if you had no choice, and killing was not just the only way out of a squeeze but was also your fate? Intellectual stuff, indeed. But as with the rest of the series, a profound metaphysical puzzle is brought to the fore without justifying it with an answer. It's frustrating, but also keeps you firmly planted in your chair, pondering conundrum after conundrum. --Jeremy Storey

Todd McFarlane's Spawn - The Ultimate Collection (Animated Series)

Todd McFarlane's Spawn (Animated Series)

Adult, stylish, and more than a little mean, this full-length animated tale has one very strong thing going for it--it knows how to milk cool. The animation is superior to anything recently devoted to a superhero...or super antihero, in this case. Al Simmons was a government assassin before he was burned to death and sent to hell (plot summary's starting out nicely, isn't it?). After making a particularly bad deal with the devil--to lead Satan's dark armies in exchange for seeing his wife again--Spawn is let loose upon the world. He immediately whacks three mob hit men, making his presence known and getting himself into all sorts of trouble. Spawn is also visited by the Clown, an obese, disgusting Beatrice, guiding our third-degree-burned Dante through this hellish, topside world. There are other nasty characters, but in this first segment a very gratuitous inclusion of a child murderer goes too far for even this mature fare. Spawn isn't fun; there's very little joy in any of this. But the point isn't fun--it's brutal, adult-comic style. And there's plenty of it. --Keith Simanton

How can you avenge betrayal and murder? How can you fight for right in a world so steeped in evil? How can you protect those you love most from all that can do them harm? No man living - or dead - can tell you. But one trapped between both is struggling for an answer that can save the lives of his most beloved, or plunge the world into eternal darkness. The cloak and chains of Spawn explode from the comic book page onto the screen in a deadly tornado of untapped, unwrapped, merciless power.

Full Force New Line Platinum Series DVD 4-Pack (Blade/Rush Hour/The Corruptor/Spawn)

The Full Force 4-disk giftset includes the action hits Blade, the Curruptor, Rush Hour and Spawn.

The Cell/Spawn

The Cell/Spawn

The Cell / Spawn (Two-Pack)