BigDingus

The trailer got me interested in the mystery right off the bat, but I read the negative reviews & moved on. Majority of reviews were good, but I always checkout negative reviews to see if they share something in common, and if that something will be an issue with me.

I didn't see it in theaters, then saw it was available to rent just now. Read user reviews, to prep myself, then saw everyone saying Act 3 was a letdown & didn't stick the landing. So when I made the decision to watch, I went in knowing the last 1/3 would be a disappointment, but at least I'd get a decent mystery movie until then.

That's why I'm shocked to be here writing this review, as I loved this movie... 3rd act included!

Now I'm not going to sit here & tell you everyone will be satisfied or to ignore the negative reviews. If anything, pay more attention the negative reviews than mine, then decide whether it's still worth a watch.

Personally, I was most concerned the ending would be disappointing because it'd leave things unresolved. Nope, not really. Sure, there's some secondary questions you could ask, but the main mystery posed in the trailer IS resolved.

It also doesn't shy away from the supernatural (which I enjoy), and the way the story unfolds keeps you hooked the entire time. I like how the separate elements all converge to one point, both for the audience & for the characters.

Maybe people don't like that the ending had a semi-humorous tone to it? I mean, it's still serious what happens, but the way it's presented is deliberately meant to be humorous. For me, it felt like a well-earned sigh of relief for us & for our protagonists. And to be clear, when I say "ending," I'm referring to the last few minutes of the film. The whole ending sequence was not humorous or filmed in a lighthearted way at all, just the very last bit.

Lastly, I would've been happier to see another 5 minutes tacked on to cover some of the aftermath, but that's really the only knock I have against the ending. Other than that, no complaints.

I spent most of my review focusing on the last act, mainly because it seems most are in agreement that the first 2 acts are good. I was also intentionally vague, as I really don't want to spoil anything not shown in the trailers.

I will say this is primarily a mystery film, with horror elements coming from the building tension experienced throughout the town. That's not to say there's no horror at all, but that's not the focus. A few scenes are disturbing, and there are supernatural elements going on, but that's not the bulk of it.

Anyway, I really enjoyed it & was pleasantly surprised. I very much got my money's worth & would recommend it to people who don't mind if the journey is better than the destination. For the record, the journey & destination were both great to me, but I went in expecting that not to be the case (and was ok with that risk).

In conclusion: 8.5/10 - Would Recommend.

I already enjoyed The Sandman, but this episode definitely provided a different kind of enjoyment. It was reminiscent of early Game of Thrones. Lots of politicking & maneuvering, lots of lore drops, heavy on the exposition but also tons of weight in each conversation.

Watching famous legends from various mythologies interact with each other was cool, especially for a mythology geek like myself.

I will say I was hoping for something a bit more dramatic, given where episode 1 ended, but this was exciting in a different way. No big battle or Dream vs Lucifer match up, but a battle of wits instead.

That being said, the scenery, visuals & VFX were beautiful as always. A lot of Netflix shows have these reportedly gargantuan budgets, yet when you watch them, all you can think is "this looks so cheap... where did all that money go?" This show isn't like that at all. No idea what the budget was, but none of it looks cheap.

Anyway, I could probably watch various immortals talk & bribe Dream all day. I could seriously watch many more seasons like this, with tons of mythological deities all vying for power, negotiating, leveraging their powers, mingling with each other, etc. Sadly, I'm pretty sure this show is ending with S2.

Oh well, few things ever last long on Netflix aside from sitcoms, reality shows & a handful of old holdovers from when they still cared about quality > quantity. So with that, I'll enjoy The Sandman while it lasts.

I really enjoy the premise of this series, but episodes like last week's & this one remind me why it's nowhere near a priority for me to watch. The episodes are way too short, and just as something interesting is about to happen - abrupt ending.

Yes, cliffhangers can be good, but with this show it feels like a crutch. Very little happens in an episode, so to immediately crush the momentum every time there IS momentum feels frustrating rather than exciting.

Had this season dropped all at once like Fallout on Prime or most Netflix shows, people could watch at their own pace & not be restricted to a tiny 16 minutes a week. Episodes say 23 minutes, but that's discounting the 7 minutes of Apple TV splash screens, recaps, intro & credits.

For weekly viewers, you barely get to spend any time with these characters. Without looking it up, I could only tell you one character's name, and that's because he serves as a foil to Sec Unit. But ask me 2 days from now, and I'll probably have forgotten even that.

It's just a shame how chopped up everything is. I'd love to learn more about the lore of the world & the history of these people, but with such precious little time, the episode is basically over after a handful of conversations & slightly moving the plot forward to our next obstacle to overcome.

At this point, I think I'm going to pause watching this series & wait for it to finish. Maybe then the pacing won't feel so off, and I won't feel so cheated after the credits drop the second something meaningful happens in each episode.