I want to talk about Netflix’s new show, The Sandman; but the negative reviews in particular. Why? For those of you that don’t already know, and without launching into another one of my stupid speels, I’m a fan of Dream; his dysfunctional family; and of the Dreaming.
Obviously The Sandman is based on the comic book of the same name, and with every and any adaptations for television or film, there will be some changes, whether they are subtle, small, large or can’t even recognise the original material anymore. New and old fans of the original content, but also viewers of the adaptation, will voice their opinions and reviews of it. I meant, that’s what the internet is for: to fight with people over fictional characters.
Well Scott, what’s that got to do with the price of milk? Great question, so here’s the answer. I don’t have Netflix, because I’m just not organised enough to have it, plus I’m not cool enough. That being the case, I haven’t seen The Sandman. Yet. Hope springs eternal though.
However that has not stopped me from watching videos from the show, and reading reviews about it. This of course finally brings me to the point of this self-opinioned geek rant; when it comes to The Sandman and many other properties that I love, I am very bias.
So when someone starts talking smack about things that I love or have an interest in (whatever it is), I listen. I don’t automatically dismiss the negative remarks, except for Salt and Vinegar. That’s a hill I will die on.
Anyway, I always like to listen, watch, or read someone’s opposite opinion or review on things that I love. Basically, its so I can determine if there is any truth to what they are saying, because I may actually agree with them; or if they are just talking through their arse.
Because of this idiotic philosophy, may I present some of the most creative negative reviews of The Sandman, that the internet has got to offer, but also the best ones that I can actually find.
REMINDER:
1.) I have not seen The Sandman. Yet.
2.) Everybody is entitled to their own opinion. 1
Sweet? Awesome let’s do this!
Rotten Tomatoes: (Accurate for 15th August 2022)
87% Tomatometer
80% Audience Score
Kelly Lawler: USA Today
5th August 2022
Excruciatingly slow and dull if not outright boring, “Sandman” is a perplexing failure. The stories that make up the comic-book epic are sewn together haphazardly and confusingly, never building to discernible arcs and not even broken down into interesting stand-alone episodes. The series is a pile of stories and moods randomly tossed on top of each other.
Ben Travers: indieWire
5th August 2022
The Sandman isn’t an arduous watch — it churns out curious cast members or creative concepts regularly enough to stir a kind of baffled fascination. But absent a beating heart and focused mind, it is easily forgotten.
Nick Schager: The Daily Beast
5th August 2022
Neil Gaiman’s adaptation of his celebrated graphic novel series stars Tom Sturridge as a god-like being out for revenge. It’s a shame that his character is so dull.
Ezequiel Boetti: Otroscines.com
5th August 2022
With grave and sepulchral dialogues, a protagonist with less charisma than the sand he seeks, and a convoluted build-up, make this series the victim of its own ambition of transcendence.
John Doyle: Globe and Mail
9th August 2022
This time, a great deal of time and money was spent on 10 episodes for Netflix, all of it scandalously wasted. It is a destination not worth the journey; it is sleep-inducing piffle.
IMDb: (Accurate for 15th August 2022)
7.9/10 rating
tommiewommie: 1/10 rating
5th August 2022
Is this a joke? The acting is great, I mean, nothing bad there! It’s not as bad as Resident Evil but damn it is still very bad. The entire story is just horrendous. The CG and make-up is done by a toddler apparently. Please give me back my time. Or sleep.
xwiibmdn: 3/10 rating
6th August 2022
Not very interesting. It is slow and predictable. And súper woke. I really wanted to like it but unfortunately didn’t. Maybe after reading some many amazing reviews I got all too excited about it.
bmesser: 2/10 rating
8th August 2022
I was kind of looking forward to seeing this. I’ve read a number of Gaimans book and liked them. The Sandman however was a hodge podge of ideas bolted together with little central theme to connect them all together. They should have stopped at episode 6 which was by far the best story. After that it got even more ridiculous and I ended up fast forwarding through the last 3 episodes. I won’t be watching the second series.
jagkuar: 1/10 rating
13th August 2022
You know a show is so bad when even the trailers/writing insults you. I don’t know who the writers are trying to target but it’s not for those with no patience for stupidity.
Yeva-22652: 2/10 rating
14th August 2022
Direction, dialog, acting, set design and cgi – all so bad it hurts to watch. I absolutely love the comics I always felt it would be difficult to adapt for the screen but this is just tasteless. I must say I enjoyed reading bad reviews more than enjoyed the show.
Other sources:
Daniel Joyaux: https://www.rogerebert.com
5th August 2022
…So who is “The Sandman” actually for? There’s no evidence that any care or consideration was given to appealing to people who aren’t already diehard fans of the source material. And as for those diehards, do they want or need to see comics they’ve probably read several times essentially just regurgitated back to them from a TV screen? To some fans, the only good adaptation is a verbatim one. But that doesn’t describe all fans, and presumably more than a few of them will grow weary of just how unimaginative—how sadly undreamt about—this series of dreams really is.
Dan Einav: https://www.ft.com
5th August 2022
…Other characters and subplots are introduced but little feels fleshed out after several episodes, especially since the dialogue is largely limited to functional statements in which people bluntly declare who they are, what they want or what they intend to do. Allusions to the unconscious or the necessity of dreams, meanwhile, are bereft of psychological exploration. What should be a cerebral fantasy is instead indistinguishable from countless others. Still, it’s rather fitting that a series about the “king of dreams” seems so well equipped to send viewers to sleep.
Roxana Hadadi: https://www.vulture.com
5th August 2022
Neither sweet dream nor horrifying nightmare, Netflix’s The Sandman, the long-gestating adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s legendary DC Comics series, is more of an afternoon nap, the kind that unintentionally whiles away an afternoon: initially pleasant, but then it just … keeps going.
Belen Edwards: https://mashable.com
5th August 2022
If you’ve been dreaming of a perfect onscreen version of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, you’re going to have to dream a bit longer, and a bit harder. Netflix’s take on the brilliant comic book series has its moments of excellence, but it also suffers from uneven pacing and mountains of exposition. The result isn’t a snooze by any stretch of the imagination. Unfortunately, it isn’t a masterpiece on the level of the comics either.
Bibek Bhattacharya: https://lifestyle.livemint.com
12th August 2022
…The show is enjoyable enough for non-book readers and better than much else on TV right now. But it is also deeply flawed, for the simple reason that one has to compare the show to the books. At times, the TV show runs like a mirror image of the book’s plot, but an inferior one written by someone with less talent than Gaiman. The show is curiously flat, especially the first half of the season. The wonder isn’t transporting enough, the scary bits aren’t terrifying enough, the jokes aren’t funny enough. In order to make the TV series as acceptable as possible to as many people as possible, the heart of the stories has been dilute.
There are other negative reviews out there, but unlike the sand in Dream’s Sand Pouch, my writing is finite; I need to actually sleep.
So should you watch the show or pass it? I have already said this before, but when it comes to The Sandman, I am very bias. Having said that, and this goes for a general rule of thumb for any comic, book, movie, tv show, computer game, music, and chip flavour; don’t listen to anybody else’s review or opinion. If you want to experience a product, go and experience it yourself, that way, you’ll always know.
But if I had Netflix, I would have already binge watched The Sandman by now, with a big dumb grin on my face, to give me a sliver of happiness.
Have you already seen The Sandman? If you have, please let me know your thoughts on it. Alright, that’s it for today. Thanks for reading, and remember:
Things need not have happened to be true. Tales and dreams are the shadow-truths that will endure when mere facts are dust and ashes, and forgot.
Sandman #19: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
See you next Monday.
1 Even if they are wrong.
SOME GEEK TOLD ME 
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