
DATE: Monday, August 4, 1997                TAG: 9708020063

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E5   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: MOVIE REVIEW

SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC 

                                            LENGTH:   79 lines

``SPAWN'' HAS INTERESTING EFFECTS BUT LITTLE PLOT

IF YOU'D LIKE to go to hell, ``Spawn'' is for you.

The big-screen, live-people (sort of) movie version of the comic book and cable television animated series, provides a great deal to see. It's pompous narration and no-sense plot, though, make it questionable that it should take up 97 minutes.

``Spawn'' has rather cheezy computer-generated effects and a quickie look that makes it unlikely to win any crossover audience beyond its devoted adolescent clinging core. It's plot, a good deal of mumbo jumbo about heaven's being attacked by hell's army, is so simple that it seems a stretch to repeat it as often as is done.

The effects, with hell's creatures morphing into varied forms of weapons-carrying denizens, is something to see once, but it gets a little pointless when it's repeated.

Todd McFarlane's 1993 comic book almost instantly became a best seller - outselling ``X-Men,'' ``Batman'' and ``Superman.'' The notoriety is likely to ensure a big opening weekend for the movie, but it's likely to fade fast.

Michael Jai White, the karate expert who played Mike Tyson on HBO, has the title role, initially a CIA-type assassin until he's burned to a crisp by his boss, Jason Wynn, played with a terrible accent and overacting by Martin Sheen.

White spends five years in hell (which seems excessive since he's such a good ``family'' man and all) before he's offered a bargain. Even though in an excessive state of chardom, he can go back and visit his wife (Theresa Randle) if he will subsequently lead the armies of hell. Spawn is not cheered to find that his wife has since married his old CIA partner (D.B. Sweeney).

Two kind of pesky hangers-on hound Spawn, pulling him between evil and good. Do you have to ask which one he will choose? Nicol Williamson, a fine classical actor who looks appropriately embarrassed, plays Cogliostro, a kind of good knight who dates back to the Crusades, wears a Victorian-like coat and can turn his arm into a sword. Williamson is Obi-Wan Kenobi to Spawn, spurting lines of encouragement.

He's not nearly as noisy as the force of evil, Clown, played by John Leguizamo. Clown has all the best lines, but only about one out of every 10 quips is funny. Typical of the scatalogical jokes that are aimed to make adolescents giggle are his many fart jokes.

He calls Spawn ``Crispy.''

For the most part, though, there is little fun to be had here. The movie takes itself much too seriously, beginning with a laughably intense narration.

The effects, though, are another thing. Seeing Spawn's red cape willow in the breeze and turn into armor is a movie sight to behold. We even, with suitably red lighting, get a look at hell, and Satan himself, who is no more than a huge muppet monster with a bad temper and a bad dentist. Coupled with Hades in Disney's ``Hercules,'' this has been a big summer for hell in movies aimed at kids.

The armies look suspiciously as if they were computer generated - hundreds of little beings who all look alike - duplicated.

It's not surprising that the visuals are impressive, because Mark Dippe, who is making his directorial debut, worked with Industrial Light and Magic on movies such as ``The Abyss,'' ``Terminator 2'' and ``Jurassic Park.''

There has been a noticeable effort to avoid any real gore, bad language or edge that would have gotten the movie an R rating, making it a little more difficult for children to get into the theater. Consequently, the adult readers of the comic book may feel a little cheated. This is a bit of a sanitized version.

The action scenes are edited so clumsily that they make no sense, and there is never any sense of real danger.

``Spawn'' is all cosmetics with no real edge. ILLUSTRATION: NEW LINE CINEMA

Under an elaborate costume, Michael Jai White stars in ``Spawn.''

MOVIE REVIEW

``Spawn''

Cast: Michael Jai White, John Leguizamo, Martin Sheen, Theresa

Randle, D.B. Sweeney, Nicol Williamson

Director: Mark A.Z. Dippe

MPAA rating: PG-13 (violence but cartoonish rather than gory,

scatalogical jokes aimed at adolescent boys)

Mal's rating: **