Ignoring the way the character is written later, Flint Marko's (Thomas Hayden Church) transformation into Sandman is a mesmerising sequence, on a par with Doc Ock's awakening to his metallic arms in Spider-Man 2. The tragic set-up is there, ready to tug on your heart strings, as Marko flees from the police, only having escaped from prison in order to visit his dying daughter. His tumble into the particle accelerator experiment is rather horrific, as he is powerless to escape while the machine boots up. The CGI effects on post-accident Sandman were actually impressive for its day, and still jus about hold up in 2016. Each individual grain of sand is visible as Marko slowly gathers himself back to life in his new form, tumbling over himself and unable to keep it together. The kicker is when he sees the locket containing his daughter's photograph - it's a heartbreaking moment when he reaches for it with his granulated hand and fails to pick it up, Christopher Young's stirring score rising in the background. Somehow the visual effects team at Sony Pictures Imageworks were able to show us the anguish on Sandman's face at that moment, regardless of the fact that he barely has a face. Impressive stuff, and a testament to Sam Raimi's direction.
Cinephile since 1993, aged 4, when he saw his very first film in the cinema - Jurassic Park - which is also evidence of damn fine parenting. World champion at Six Degrees of Separation. Lender of DVDs to cheap mates. Connoisseur of Marvel Comics and its Cinematic Universe.
