The Sandman (2022) review: Phenomenal adaptation of an iconic story

The Sandman (2022) is a Netflix fantasy series that revolves around Dream, the king of dreams, as he traverses the different worlds and encounters different entities. The series is based on the comic series of the same name written by Neil Gaiman.

Story

Lord Morpheus is known by many names – King of Dreams, Dreamlord, Dream, and the Sandman. He rules over the Dreaming, the realm that contains the collective subconscious of the whole of Humanity.

When he visits the waking world in search of a rogue nightmare called The Corinthian, he is captured by a greedy human named Roderick Burgess and imprisoned for over a century. During this time the Dreaming is slowly sent into ruin.

When Dream finally escapes his imprisonment, he seeks revenge on the ones responsible for his captivity and to rebuild the Dreaming to its former glory.

He as to contend with escaped nightmares, a dream vortex and even his own siblings along the way but ultimately he learns a thing or two from his adventures that change him for the better.

Performances

The performances of the cast are truly inspired and magnificent. Each and every member pulls their weight and turns in a performance worthy of praise.

Tom Sturridge plays the titular character in all its broody, gothic glory. His grim, dry delivery of the words given to him add a layer of intensity to the performance while it also captures the duality of a character who has so much power but still has so much to learn about the world.

Boyd Holbrook and David Thewlis play two key villains through the course of the series and they are both sinister in their own ways. Holbrook and Thewlis deliver spine-chilling renditions of their characters that make them mesmerising villains.

Patton Oswalt lends the voice of Mathew the Raven and he’s the hilarious foil to the much more serious Sandman whenever he’s on screen. Jenna Coleman plays the gender bent version of John Constantine but maintains much of the essence of the original character, although a minor gripe would be loosing the original scouse accent of the Liverpudlian Hellraiser.

There are so many performances in The Sandman that deserve a shoutout for their exemplary portrayal like Vanesu Samunyai, Gwendoline Christie, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Stephen Fry and Vivienne Acheampong among others.

Positives

With such well-established source material, the creators were under pressure to deliver a worthy adaptation and they succeed on that count with flying colours.

The dialogue and the characters are written beautifully and make it easy to be enamoured by what the audience is watching on screen.

Add to that the superb cinematography and special effects and The Sandman is a visual spectacle rivalling some of the best productions out there.

There are two episodes that exist within themselves, ’24/7′ and ‘The Sound of Her Wings’, that can be considered the standouts because they depict artful storytelling and still forge a connection to the main plotline.

The Sandman moves at a comfortable pace and makes sure that the audience is kept in the loop at all times.

Negatives

While the script is magnificent, the series can be considered a little dialogue heavy which may not be the cup of tea for some sections of viewers.

Verdict

The Sandman (2022) is 10 episodes of elegant fantasy that is set on a beautiful backdrop and brings to life the original comic book series without too many qualms. Despite the runtimes, this series is an easy binge and should be considered a must-watch regardless of whether one is familiar with the source material or not.

Rating: 4.5/5


Also Read: The Sandman (2022) ending explained: Does Dream capture The Corinthian?

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