The Sandman is a loyal adaptation of the cartoon, but too high expectations ruined me – in the review of The Sandman
Based on the same name in Neil Gaiman, the The Sandman series has become Netflix’s latest hit. Fans praise the racing work, and no gravel sounds are there. However, I dare to admit (despite the fear of lynching) that the first season of _The Sandman did not succeed in charming me.
I’m not an expert in the The Sandman comic book: I’ve read the first four albums all the way to the _season of mists. I once liked what I read, but nowadays my taste has changed a bit at the time.
Something confusing…
The 10-piece series tells about Morpheus, the dream of dreams. He is one of the seven siblings that are called endless. Endless are some strong forces of nature, and in addition to Morpheus, the mixed sibling flock is Death, Desire, Delirium, Despair, Destruction and Destiny.
The series consists of a few small stories covering the first and second part of the cartoon, Preludes and nocturns and _the doll’s house. The level of stories varies, and if one of them does not get the viewer in their palas, it is difficult to keep the series as a whole.
It all begins when the British aristocrat Roderick Burgess and his followers try to capture the death of Morpheus’s death. However, something goes on, and instead of death, the crowd will grab their dreams. Roderick steals from the unconscious morpheus this power: a helmet, a ruby and a sand bag. The occultists have no intention of releasing their prey, and they hold Morpheu in prison for over 100 years until he manages to escape. Now, the creature has to look for the lost power objects to rebuild the kingdom of dreams that has become a decay.
Something bad…
The plot is quite faithful to the cartoon and here the Sandman deserves ten points. At some points, however, the events become a bit confusing-especially if there is no idea of the events in the cartoon.
During the first five episodes, Morpheus is followed as he searches for his power. Each episode tells the story of the encounter between Sandman and a certain character: during the beginning, a superficial introduction to Johanna Constantine, Lucifer Morningstar and a man named John Dee. Sandman’s sister, Desire, also flashes very quickly on the screen.
For me, perhaps the biggest problem with the series is the excessive number of characters. The viewer is constantly introduced to new characters, some of which are visible on the screen for longer, some only for a little disappearing moment. In the cartoon, instant dating with new characters work, but in the TV series I need more time to get to know new people more in-depth.
Something good…
From the first half of the stories, my favorite was the episode of a man called Hob Gadling. In the dark in the Middle Ages, a man boasts to his friends that he never wants to die. The death of the proclamation decides to fulfill this wish, and the man ends up living a long and eventful life. Morpheus visits Gadling every hundred years and during that time men make friends with each other. The story brings out the human side of Morpheus, and by the way, such an unpleasant character starts to feel like a nice guy at the end of the episode.
Only this one first episode made me chuckle for joy, I think all the other stories were a bit loud.
The end of the first season tells the story of the sleeping spike, Rose Walker. After the sloppy start of the series, this story about a woman who manipures dreams made me excited again for The Sandman: Unlike my habits, the last four episodes of Ahm to go together! So the taste left in my mouth is not completely bitter, and there is a small chance that I will also look at the next season of the series.
Something beautiful…
Visually, the work is very impressive. But that’s what it must be if $ 15 million has been wasted per period.
The Sandman Starring me a new acquaintance Tom Sturridge . She looks like a blacks with messy hair just like a character hiking on the cartoon pages, and is an externally successful choice for her role. On the other hand, Morpheus is such an expressionless and loud character that I still have no certainty as to whether Sturridge has a good or bad actor gift.
My favorites include harry Potter familiar with David Thewlis John Deen, always as wonderful in the role of Stephen Fry Gilbert, and Boyd Holbrook as a charming The Corinthian devil. In the cartoon, my favorite is death, but unfortunately Kirby Howell-Baptiste gets far too little screen time, so it is difficult to form a very strange opinion. I admit that at least the character has succeeded in preserving the mirror of death and a positive attitude to life.
Something ugly…
I have come to the conclusion that too high expectations were the reason why Netflix’s the Sandman didn’t make me cry for joy.
I was expecting something to blow up, but I got a mediocre fantasy dude.
Cartoon fans will love the series anyway, but others should take it with a little caution.