Although the hype for comic book cinema has been going on for almost 15 years and it seems not to wane, some publishing houses – such as Sandman – are a real challenge for filmmakers due to their visual side. It would be nice that the creators also reach for this type of comic book, because the series published in 1989-1996 is a dark, twisted, sometimes even scary story, capable of engaging and delighting with its originality. However, with each adaptation there is a grain of anxiety whether it will definitely succeed …

Dream, Morpheus, Sandman. Who is the master of dreams?

The main character, Dream, is the ruler of dreams and the land of dreams. He is one of the supernatural beings known as The Endless, and his unusual siblings are Death, Delirium, Desire, Despair, Destiny, and Destruction. Sleep, also known as Morpheus, controls the dreams of all beings on Earth. He is a pale and tall black-clad man with black hair. He could easily blend in with the crowd at any gothic concert, although his appearance (as well as the entire series) has been updated.

Tom Sturridge – a British actor who was selected from over 200 applicants – stars in the lead role and he is very good at the role. He is the protagonist of this story, but not always a positive hero. His Morpheus is sparing in words and gestures (like all “infinite” ones), he can also be cruel and cold. At the same time, the viewer can sympathize with him, because throughout the season he observes how Morpheus makes mistakes and learns from them.

When Sen is trapped in the human world (because the rich British play with black magic), his entire kingdom plunges into chaos. Lack of sleep also affects humanity – some people fall into a dreamless coma from which they are unable to wake up. It takes years, for themselves and their families it becomes a waking nightmare

When he finally manages to break free from the magical prison, he sets out in search of the lost insignia of his power – a helmet, a ruby ​​and a sandbag. He visits new lands and meets his siblings, confronts demons, nightmares that escaped from his world, and people often as terrible as the worst night terrors.

Feeding pigeons and a serial killer

Most of the episodes – like comics – are separate stories, connected by a single thread, i.e. the motif of Morpheus slowly regaining his power and trying to embrace the hundred-year-old mess. Some episodes are filled with tension so dense that they can be cut with a knife, others wander slowly, based on talking and feeding pigeons. An atmosphere of sleepiness surrounds everything as the story slowly unfolds, following the master of dreams step by step. The creators do not want to rush into telling these stories.

Comic book fans will surely recognize many dialogues and frames taken straight from the pages of the comic, although shown in a gentler and more accessible way for Netflix viewers, but without much loss for the plot. I read comics quite recently and I must admit that it was engaging, fascinating, but also difficult in places.

All episodes of Sandman have something interesting about them: a character that attracts attention (Boyd Holbrook as a Corinthian works so much that I would like him to play only villains from now on), the theme of Cain and Abel, a “serial” conference or a meeting over a beer once a day one hundred years. On the plus side, I am counting on the fact that in screening out the stories from the source material, the creators rejected the motifs of DC superheroes, making Sandman a separate creation, unblemished with tricot. What’s more, removing some threads or characters from history did not spoil the whole thing.

On his way, Sen meets not only his siblings, but also people – including those who know well about the existence of other worlds. Among them is the exorcist Johanna Constantine, whom I wish to summon to the blackboard.

I don’t know if it’s an unconvincing performance by Jenny Coleman or my purely subjective reaction to the fact that the creators of the series had the opportunity to introduce John Constantine and did not use it, but this character is just poor, there is no one between her and the other characters. chemistry.

Johanna doesn’t look like an interesting character, especially when compared to the roles of the aforementioned Tom Sturridge, Kirby Howell-Baptiste in the role of Death, Boyd Holbrook or David Thewlis. The latter, for example, was extremely humanized in relation to its comic book prototype, but was able to perfectly reflect the repulsive and cruel personality of John Dee.

Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer is an unusual choice that proved to be a great success (I won’t say surprisingly, because she’s a great actress). Her Morning Star speaks softly, and she hides a great club behind her back. I look forward to her next steps.

As mentioned above, the visual acidic trip that readers are served on some pages of the comic book is in part impossible to show on screen, so that each frame would agree. For this reason, the series from the visual side is quite subdued, smooth, but has its own modern style, without losing the spirit of the original.

There are beautiful and terrifying moments here, in which computer effects specialists give us a show of their skills, but we also see poor and fairly generic effects at times. I don’t know about you, but I’m a bit fed up with large, open computer spaces where various characters wander around, still looking into the distance.

Like sand in an hourglass

Sandman is a production that offers the viewer a journey through truly original worlds and meetings with fascinating heroes, but in an edition accessible to everyone, not only for fans of Neil Gaiman’s crazy imaginations and a group of talented cartoonists, but also for a completely new generation of fans.

Of all Gaiman’s productions that have been brought to screens in recent years, Sandman is certainly a strong production, as engaging as A Good Omens , but devoid of the unfortunate chaos of the American gods .

The creators managed to create a story that draws the viewer into a truly fascinating universe, while modernizing it and not losing the spirit of the original. And this – as long as Netflix is ​​satisfied with the viewership results – is only the beginning of this dream dream.