Cinder Spark (Film)

**Cinder Spark** is a 2022 superhero drama film directed by Trigger Happy the Gremlin, starring Spencer Fox as the titular character, Amiyah Scott, Sarah Roemer, Ryan Eggold, Vinnie Jones, Yumi Yoshimura, Benedict Wong, and Danny Pino.

Cinder Spark was released in theaters on June 10, 2022, in 2D, 3D, and IMAX. The film received mostly positive reviews, with critics praising the film's action scenes and portrayal of violence, cinematography, visual effects, Trigger's direction and John Williams' score, but some criticized its pacing and disturbing tonal approach, and especially Fox's performance as Cinder Spark. The film grossed over $1.336 billion worldwide, making a net profit of around $84 million.

## Synopsis

Aleb learns that he is an omnipotent being from a parallel universe destined to restore peace in humanity, defending them under the title of Cinder Spark until he must decide whether he has what it takes to fight the equally-strong Markowsky and stop him from killing the last of Aleb's creed.

## Cast

* Spencer Fox as Cinder Spark
	+ Iain Armitage as 12-year-old Cinder Spark
* Amiyah Scott as Beverely Lang
* Sarah Roemer
* Ryan Eggold
* Vinnie Jones
* Yumi Yoshimura
* Benedict Wong
* Erin Sanders
* Morena Baccarin
* David Tennant

## Themes

The majority of reviewers viewed Cinder Spark as a religious allegory, particularly because 1001 Spears and Sony set up a website with an 18-page sermon outline, *Allah and Cinder Spark*. Ryan Daniels compares Aban's struggle to the Hijra, claiming that "Aban and his allies are willing to die for their belief but ultimately retreat from their homeland, symbolic of Mecca, to bring it somewhere else, Medina. While reluctant to fight the militia who is sent after them, Cinder Spark ultimately takes the fight to Markowsky to defend his ideology." Daniels also claims that there is Allah symbolism within Cinder Spark: "Aleb's soul returns to Aban on Earth, leading his mentoring son on his quest to make more people believe in what they see as true. Before Aleb brings his child to Earth and destines him to learn of their creed, he tells his wives that, like Allah 'He will never be illustrated, but his impact will spread like wildfire.'" Kazim Sears of *The Washington Post* writes that "Cinder Spark hovers in space in front of a star and cresent moon," a detail that Daniels also focused on in his assessment of the film. Cinder Spark, while frozen in space for half of his life, is also 40 years old and finds aid from an Imam at a Mosque. Writing for *The Huffington Post*, Garrett Pacino compares Markowsky to Benjamin Netanyahu, citing: "He thinks a world where Cinder Spark and his believers have been bombed out (i.e. what Benjamin Netanyahu wants for Israel through his preemptive strikes against Palestinians) is the only way forward." The scene where Aban is shut in a closet as punishment for causing trouble with a pre-transition Beverely (Bevin) has lead to an extremely popular theory that Cinder Spark is either pansexual or meant to represent the struggles of queer people. Several viewers noted that the gifts Cinder Spark and Bevin exchange rainbow-patterned items before the latter is sent to boarding school, the rainbow flag being a globally recognized symbol of the LGBTQ+ community.

## Marketing

Sony enlisted Islam-based marketing firm Minaret Media to spread the Muslim themes of the film to religious demographics, with special trailers made outlining the religious tones, similar to many previous instances of Hollywood studios marketing films to specific religious and cultural groups. 1001 Spears previously marketed films like The Escapade of Rogue Gunther to faith-based groups. Sony also asked Professor Daniel Maltese of Pepperdine University to "make a Cinder Spark-centric sermon outline for pastors titled *Allah and Cinder Spark*." Regarding this, Kazim Sears of *The Washington Post* wrote that "the religious themes keep coming: Peace. Martyrs. Living to spread your faith. Cinder Spark is not a superhero film, it is the best Quran adaptation in cinema. The messages are so overwhelmingly powerful that its marketers have explicitly shoved the film to Muslim audiences."

## Parents Guide

### Classification

Rated R for graphic sequences of strong bloody violence and massacres, and language throughout.

## BBFC

Rated 15 for strong bloody violence

Cinder Spark is the tale of a superhero's origins in a parallel universe, his childhood on Earth, and his war on omnipotent murderers from his universe.

Violence: Combat between gods and armed shooters result in giant massacres and destruction as they punch, shoot and throw each another through buildings, killing their inhabitants with bloody detail. Throughout these prolonged sequences of violence there are also crunchy decapitations with blood spray and injury detail but realism is limited by the context. One sequence involves a supervillain smashing the heads and bodies of noncombatants, including a child, with copious amounts of blood splatter.
The film also has some strong language, including 'f\*\*k,' which is mostly present during flashback scenes in which the young protagonist is verbally abused by a thug in his town. The scenes of Cinder Spark as an infant in his universe show the baby lying naked and his buttocks are depicted many times as an adult but the nudity is entirely natural. Themes of genocide are present and there are moderate depictions of suicide, including a character shooting himself in the head before being resurrected.