Didn't live up to my memory of it

I watched this movie several years ago and remembered it fondly. However, having watched it again recently, I wonder at the former warmth with which I recalled the film. M.J. White demolishes Spawn, the title character, by attempting to growl and bark his way to a facsimile of emotional intensity. It doesn't work. Worse yet, he brings no nuances to his Spawn. In a movie based on a comic-book, creating a one-dimensional hero is a deal-breaker, as has been proved before by the likes of the Hulk. This is an irrecoverable deficiency for the film.

John Leguizamo, on the other hand, plays the Clown/Violator with delicious irreverence and completely out-acts poor Michael Jai. Surprisingly, he also steals virtually every scene in which he appears with Marin Sheen, who looks for all the world as if he couldn't get his pay cheque fast enough for a speedy exit stage right.

Yet, for all its faults, it is clear that given the right script, proper acting and a decent budget, there's a franchise here just begging for someone to make a killing at the box office. I don't know if it'll ever happen, but if it does, you can count me in.

I recommend this movie, but don't expect too much.