Netflix's adaptation of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman hit the streamer yesterday, with the review embargo lifting just a couple of hours earlier. This is not always a great sign, but the first wave of reviews were very positive, and the show sat at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes for quite a while.
Now, more verdicts have been added to the popular aggregator, and even though a few negative takes have seen its score drop a little, The Sandman is now officially "certified fresh" at 84% with 58 reviews counted.
"While it may hold few surprises for fans of the source material, The Sandman's first season satisfyingly adapts an allegedly unfilmable classic," reads the site's consensus.
Check out excerpts from some of the reviews below, and let us know if you agree with the overall verdict.
"The Sandman is an expansive, layered read with a wide range of characters and intertwining plotlines, but at its core, it is the story of an ancient, immortal being going through an existential crisis and coming to realize that even he is capable of evolving and adapting to the changing world around him," we said in our review. "Netflix's upcoming series never loses sight of this, which is partially what makes it such a staggeringly successful adaptation."
Empire concluded its 4-star verdict with: "With its attention to the source material, its impressive cast, and the kind of expansive world-building that surely demands more seasons, The Sandman is what dreams are made of." Idobi.com was similarly impressed, referring to the show as "a lush and thorny vision of the mayhem and magic that infuses our dreams as much as our world. It is a series made to be enthralling and it does its work well."
"As far as Neil Gaiman adaptations go, "The Sandman" sits squarely in the middle," reads /Film's more mixed take. "The strengths of its source material buoy it through some of its weaknesses, but it has a fair number of those weaknesses — most of which rear their ugly head early on in the first season's 10-episode run. The main weakness being: Dream himself, Tom Sturridge."
Collider awarded a B+, but did point out a few negatives, including some less-than stellar performances: "One common complaint might be that the Rose Walker/Dream Vortex arc that closes out the season ends up being the show's weakest, and it's true those episodes suffer from some tonal inconsistencies as well as a few performances by actors who clearly aren't as seasoned as, say, Dance or Thewlis."
THR enjoyed the season, but felt the adaptation "played it too safe" overall. "It’s not nearly as aimless and artless as Cowboy Bebop — another Netflix production based on an acclaimed but seemingly unfilmable property — but it seems to suffer a similar tendency toward faithfulness to a fault, as well as an aversion to trying anything too boldly different."
The notoriously hard-to-please Guardian gave the series 4 stars, noting that "Neil Gaiman has created 2022’s single greatest hour of TV drama."
Have you guys had a chance to watch any (or all) of The Sandman yet? If so, what did you think? Be sure to share your thoughts in the comments down below.