Criticism of Netflix’s ‘Sandman’, a series that has achieved the impossible

This review has NO spoilers for ‘Sandman’

The more you read about ‘Sandman,’ the more you’ll hear that this is really a story about storytelling. While ‘Sandman’ is technically about Morpheus, a pale guy who turns out to be the personification of dreams, DC’s prized comic book series explores much more than just this character’s world.

Throughout those first 75 issues, not to mention all the specials and spinoffs that followed, Neil Gaiman’s masterpiece uses dreams as a gateway to mythology, history, and a deconstruction of reality itself. What is a story but a shared dream? Dreams aren’t real, we’re told, but dreams and stories also have the power to shape reality in the waking world by fundamentally changing both storytellers and listeners.

So it’s curious that ‘Sandman’ is known for being a difficult story to adapt and retell in other media. Although a recent version of Audible was well received by fans, the efforts to bring Morpheus to life on screen have literally been a nightmare for everyone involved.

At the world premiere of ‘The Sandman,’ the original dream spinner himself, Neil Gaiman, said, “I spent over 30 years stopping ‘The Sandman’ versions from being made.” He’s not kidding either. Morpheus is no stranger to the depths of Hell, and the same can be said for countless film adaptations that have long languished in development.

Since 1991, Hollywood has tried to capture the essence of ‘The Sandman’ on screen only to fail time and time again. One version of the script was so bad that Gaiman described it as “not only the worst ‘Sandman’ script I’ve ever seen, but easily the worst script I’ve ever read” (via ScreenRant). Desperation would have had a field day with that, it seems.

Ultimately, ‘The Sandman’ was deemed impossible to shoot in movie form. As Gaiman said at this year’s Comic-Con, making a single movie out of 3,000 comic pages was like “trying to put the ocean in a vase.” To do material justice, the decision was made to try television. Eric Kripke approached ‘Sandman’ before ‘The Boys,’ but it was David S Goyer and Allan Heinberg who ultimately won with a Netflix deal in 2019. And now here we are with ten hour-long episodes (give or take). ) adapted from the first two arcs, called ‘Preludes and Nocturnes’ and ‘The Doll’s House’.

That’s the whole story, but what about the actual story of the series itself? Is this new ‘Sandman’ what dreams are made of? Or should it have stayed in development hell where many believe it belongs? After watching all ten episodes more than once, it gives this long-time fan great joy to reveal that ‘The Sandman’ is much, much better than it has any right to be.

Much of the source material is faithfully adapted here, but enough is changed or expanded to make this “ocean” of text fit almost perfectly in what is essentially a larger “vase.” And, more importantly, the parts that have been changed or added feel like they’ve always been here.

Neil Gaiman’s fingerprint runs through these ten episodes, as well as other successful adaptations of his work such as ‘Good Omens’ and ‘American Gods’. However, it is worth noting that just as his original comics were actually a collaboration with many talented artists, cartoonists, letterers and collaborators, the same can be said for the series as well.

In fact, that’s even more true here given the scale of this production. Netflix really put all of their Netussy into this project, showering the VFX team with the amount of money that puts the Marvel team to shame. Well, we don’t actually know if that’s true, but it sounds like it is, because a lot of scenes here seem to have been pulled straight from Gaiman’s mind courtesy of Morpheus himself.

From our arrival in The Dreaming to the Sandman’s return to this realm, the first episode alone seems far more impressive – and expensive – than almost any of Netflix’s other big hits. Only ‘Stranger Things’ can rival ‘Sandman’ in this regard, which is impressive given that Gaiman’s series relies so much more on this kind of otherworldly imagery.

Within minutes, you’ll be screaming “Hang it in the Louvre” at your screen, only to be greeted with something even more beautiful until your voice goes hoarse in episode two. But you’ll want to keep going all out anyway, because ‘Sandman’ has a knack for ending each episode with something that draws you in for more, even if some of those earlier installments feel more self-contained.

Now, this is where the narrative fails a bit. While the writers do an admirable job of tying these individual chapters together with longer serialized arcs, it feels like the first season comes to a natural end with episode six, only to start over with a slightly weaker new arc in the middle. later.

The numbers for ‘A Doll’s House’ are among the best ‘Sandman’ stories ever written, and while highlights like the serial killer convention translate well here, there are others where the narrative drags on a bit. or even confused by some leaps in logic.

There’s still a lot to love about those last four chapters, but its ambition rarely lives up to those that precede it. Perhaps a mid-season split would have benefited the series, creating some distance between these first two halves so they can stand on their own.

Looking back, the moments that will probably get fans talking the most can be found in earlier chapters like ‘A Hope in Hell’, where Morpheus fights Lucifer, or ‘The Sound of His Wings’, where Dream’s sister, Death, it will leave you crying.

Even with so many highlights like these to choose from, none of this would work if it wasn’t for the cast that has been assembled here. We could talk endlessly about the talent that’s involved, but Dream’s aforementioned sister will come for us all eventually, so we’ll have to settle for a few highlights.

There will no doubt be plenty of fanfare surrounding Gwendoline Christie’s Lucifer and Kirby Howell-Baptiste’s Death, which is particularly satisfying given the whining we heard from some bigoted trolls when their casting was first announced. Ditto for Jenna Coleman’s gender-swapping role as Johanna Constantine, which pretty much demands expanding into a much-needed spinoff.

But just about everyone in this cast gives it their all, including an extremely creepy David Thewlis and also Vivienne Acheampong, who is beyond charming as Lucienne. On top of all that, Boyd Holbrook gives the best performance of his career as The Corinthian, an escaped nightmare that’s also charming in a very different, much more sinister way. And then, of course, there’s Tom Sturridge, who plays the King of Dreams himself. A lot depended on him getting it right, and thankfully, Tom exceeds all expectations.

It’s easy to see why Gaiman and Heinberg ended up choosing Sturridge out of the thousands who cast. From the comic book-accurate physicality of him to that deep, whispery yet commanding voice, there is an otherworldly aspect to Tom’s performance that is carefully reconciled with the humanity that Morpheus often works so hard to repress.

Mason Alexander Park’s take on Desire also feels ethereal in a divine sense, but while Morpheus holds back, Desire goes all out, fully embracing every impulse and, well, desire.

With this kind of role, there’s a risk of overcomplicating things, taking that swagger in a pantomime direction, but Mason revels in the role without letting it consume them. Behind every action and every word, there is an underlying sense of danger in his performance that is exciting to watch.

If only we could have seen more of this in the first season. That is a common complaint that we are sure many fans will echo in the coming days. I wish there were more Lucifer… and Dead… and Corinthian… and the Dream… and the list goes on.

As for complaints, this is one of the very good ones. It’s a compliment to say that the vast majority of this cast is just too good at each of their chosen roles, so we end up feeling cheated when they don’t get as much screen time as we’d like.

Morpheus himself once said in the comics that: “The price of getting what you want is getting what you once wanted.” But all this wishing can only be a good thing when it comes to ‘Sandman,’ assuming, of course, that Netflix does in fact bring everyone back for a second season.

After preventing multiple versions of ‘Sandman’ from being made, Gaiman’s team finally achieved the impossible by creating something that fans had long hoped for, but dared not dream of. And now that the show has finally arrived, we can’t wait to share this story, this dream, with the rest of you back home.

‘The Sandman’ is now available on Netflix Spain.