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Luther: The Fallen Sun

Idris Elba doesn’t need James Bond. He has John Luther. 

Having officially ruled out playing 007 in a recent interview, the suave British actor instead slips back into a role he’s inhabited on television for nearly a decade with “Luther: The Fallen Sun,” a feature-length continuation of the BBC crime drama (in theaters this week, then streaming on Netflix March 10), redirecting the online furor of his fan-casting to a similarly preposterous role that’s already, iconically, his own.

In Detective Chief Inspector John Luther, a renegade copper investigating London’s grisliest homicides, Elba has established an enduring hero, whose characteristic shades of gray—from his long wool overcoat to his moral compass—feel at once classical and tailored to fit. Squinting and shambling through horrific crime scenes with his hands in his pockets, Luther was styled after both Columbo and Sherlock Holmes, but it’s Elba’s mercurial screen presence, all rumpled gravitas and movie-star smolder, that fills out the character with something special. 

Brilliant and troubled, rough and ready, on the edge of darkness, Luther is a larger-than-life protagonist, the type of intensely brooding detective who’s willing to skirt any rule if it catches him a killer, whose uncompromising sense of justice puts him at odds with colleagues. (None of them can claim to keep as cool a head whilst dangling a suspected witness over a balcony to extract key information.) Elba embodies Luther’s psychological torment—he breaks the law in order to uphold it—in soulful fashion; he’s the kind of endlessly compelling screen presence who can burrow into an archetype and illuminate inner currents of passion, rage, and pain without making the obvious choice, without even seeming to lower the character’s ever-present guard. All five series of “ Luther ” to date represent the actor at his best, and one of the chief pleasures of “The Fallen Sun” is the comfort and staggering charisma with which he shrugs that signature coat over his impossibly broad shoulders and heads back to work.

Last seen cuffed by his former police superintendent, Martin Schenk ( Dermot Crowley ), after crossing one extralegal line too many in the show’s fifth series finale, Luther finds himself in prison at the start of “The Fallen Sun,” though the circumstances of his incarceration have been altered. In the film’s telling, the good detective’s investigation into the disappearance of a young janitor has led his latest adversary—a teeth-gnashing ghoul of a tech billionaire played by Andy Serkis —to leak a dossier to the media that incriminates Luther in a litany of rule-bending offenses, from breaking and entering to suspect intimidation, tampering with evidence, and bribery. (Luther’s guilty on all charges, naturally, but he has a perfectly reasonable explanation, if only the courts would hear him out.)  

Though stuck behind bars, Luther is still top of mind for Serkis’ aforementioned ghoul, David Robey, who terrorizes London through a series of elaborate killings—such as that of eight strangers, abducted, hanged, and arranged in a manor that erupts into flame as the victims’ parents arrive—but still makes time to taunt Luther over his failure to prevent the carnage. In response, Luther breaks out during a prison transport, after a kerosene-soaked cellblock-riot sequence makes his transfer to another facility inevitable. The sight of Luther shielding himself with a flaming mattress as he brawls down a corridor of bloodthirsty inmates marks “The Fallen Sun” early on as an escalation of the series’ penchant for pulp theatrics.

Back on the rain-slicked streets of London, Luther hunts for clues as to Robey’s next atrocity exhibition, even as he’s hunted by his former colleagues on the police force, including replacement DCI Odette Raine ( Cynthia Erivo ) and Schenk, consulting for the department as the authority on all things Luther. This setup is nothing new for “Luther,” which had Elba’s hero on the lam from police by the end of its first series. But there’s a sense of weariness to this latest runabout that feels cumulative—though “The Fallen Sun” is consciously framed as a cinematic reintroduction for the character, understanding the detective’s sordid history with seductive psychopath and potential soulmate Alice Morgan ( Ruth Wilson ), as well as the assorted supporting players who’ve paid the price for allying themselves with Luther, will be of value to viewers curious as to the air of haunted melancholy that hangs heavy around the character. He’s made decisions before, terrible ones, and he lives alone with their consequences.

Luther’s right at home in the film’s gloomy, gothic version of London, in which every darkened alleyway and unguarded suburban milieu is stalked by members of a rogues’ gallery twisted enough to make Batman blink. There are evil occultists who kidnap young mothers to drain their blood, masked fetishists who wait under victims’ beds only to silently snake out into view once the lights are out, even clown-masked killers who attack women making their way home alone at night. The adversaries Luther faces are super-criminals, agents of terror, turning his city into a Gotham-esque urban sprawl of fear and depravity even as they justify his own vigilantism. 

Best known for motion-captured performances that surface the humanity of sophisticated animals, Serkis is no less compelling as a sadistic wolf in sheep’s clothing, an omniscient one-percenter whose reach will never exceed his grasp. Heading a blackmailing operation that has insulated him with an army of henchmen, all victims scared their own darkest secrets will get out, Robey is a ludicrous megalomaniac even before it’s revealed he maintains a Norwegian lair befitting a Bond villain—one none-too-subtle touch that, in keeping with the film’s impressive budget, elevates Luther out of his already-heightened pulp surroundings and into a more winkingly silly action sandbox. As a series, “Luther” often dealt in extremes, pitting Elba’s relentless vigilante against all manner of depraved psychopaths as if to test his outer limits; faced with a cartoonishly cruel archvillain like this, Luther’s eventual admission to a reproachful former colleague that he broke the law because he “couldn’t see any other way to do what had to be done” registers more as a hero’s mantra than a confession of past crimes.  

Returning director Jamie Payne (who helmed Series 5) extends the stark and amplified atmosphere of his past “Luther” installments even as the action set pieces—one turning Piccadilly Square into a warzone; another leaving London to explore a frozen house of horrors—scale up, with veteran cinematographer Larry Smith bathing the film’s eeriest tableaux of domestic terror in a cold, suffusing twilight. As in previous installments of the series, Luther’s red tie—a signature accessory—is sometimes the brightest splash of color on the screen. Neil Cross , the series creator and sole writer, scripts “Luther” with a sensibility so menacing and lurid that it approaches the gritty camp of recent DC superhero films, a sensation that Lorne Balfe ’s taut, pulsing score only enhances. 

For all its glowering atmosphere and hard-boiled dialogue, though, most central to the film’s pleasures are the unerring instincts of its actors, some returning to roles they’ve been playing for a decade. When Elba shares the screen with Dermot Crowley, as former superintendent Martin Schenk, both actors bat self-serious cornball dialogue around with the steady rhythm and good humor of seasoned scene partners. They’re professionals at work, with a nasty job ahead of them. Erivo, too, fits comfortably into the equation as a detective initially tasked with tracking down Luther, supplying the matter-of-fact gravitas needed to go toe-to-toe with the hero, even if the requisite third-act twist that partners them up is a little too far-fetched, even by the film’s graphic-novel logic. 

That “The Fallen Sun” ultimately feels more episodic than climactic is by design; Elba has made no secret of his desire to play Luther on the big screen in a series of films, of which this is only the first. Soon available on Netflix alongside the rest of the TV series, “The Fallen Sun” is a natural continuation for fans but also presents a way in for series newcomers, even sending the character off in a new direction that playfully acknowledges Elba’s Bond bona fides while asserting, not unconvincingly, that Luther’s world is quite enough.

“Luther: The Fallen Sun” is in select theaters this Friday and streaming on Netflix March 10

Isaac Feldberg

Isaac Feldberg is an entertainment journalist currently based in Chicago, who’s been writing professionally for nine years and hopes to stay at it for a few more.

• Idris Elba as John Luther
• Dermot Crowley as DSU Martin Schenk
• Cynthia Erivo as Odette Raine
• Andy Serkis as David Robey
• Dermot Crowley as Martin Schenk
• Thomas Coombes as Archie Woodward
• Hattie Morahan as Corinne Aldrich
• Jamie Payne
• Justine Wright

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• Larry Smith
• Lorne Balfe

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Luther: The Fallen Sun is more of the same – for better and worse

It's been a little over four years since we last saw Idris Elba's uncompromising detective John Luther, and things weren't exactly looking up for him.

At the end of the five-season run of Luther on BBC, he was being locked up for various transgressions over the years. That could have been that, but he's back for more in his first big-screen outing with Luther: The Fallen Sun , written by series creator Neil Cross.

Unsurprisingly, for his feature-length debut, this isn't a Luther take on The Shawshank Redemption . Another twisted serial killer is terrorising London and Luther, being Luther, knows that he's the only person who can stop him, which he plans to do as soon as he breaks out of prison.

The scope might be bigger, but this is still Luther as we know it – a dark and slightly ludicrous serial-killer hunt that'll satisfy the show's fans, although one that probably won't win round newcomers.

As good as Idris Elba is as Luther (and he remains as compelling, fitting back into the role as comfortably as Luther puts on his trench coat), each series of Luther lived or died based on its villain. There's a reason that series one remains unmatched, thanks to Ruth Wilson's Alice.

Enter David Robey, played by Lord of the Rings and Andor star Andy Serkis . He's a tech billionaire who uses technology to carry out his serial-killing ways and by Luther standards, he makes Alice look like a sweetheart.

Serkis is compelling, using his chameleonic skills to convincingly make Robey the type of person you could imagine yourself trusting, while also creeping you out. The star has said he needed a wash after reading the script, and you'll feel the same with Robey's work resulting in gruesome, chilling tableaux.

As good as Serkis is though, there is a feeling of déjà vu with his villain. We won't go into spoilers, but there are echoes of Black Mirror episode 'Shut Up and Dance', while Robey's reasoning isn't really developed beyond, 'Because I'm evil, innit'.

And Robey sure is evil. Luther: The Fallen Sun is unrelentingly bleak and it could prove too grim for some Luther fans with scenes of mass suicide and Hostel -esque kill rooms. There is still that ludicrous edge of the show to enjoy though that, very infrequently, takes the edge off the bleakness.

Take, for instance, the scene where Luther goes to a hideout where he's kept the essentials. There's cash, naturally, but also a trench coat that he then puts on much like a superhero putting on their suit. Luther then stands on the rooftop of a nearby building to surveil London, probably a knowing echo to a similar shot in Skyfall and to Elba's constant James Bond links .

It's an odd blend – the macabre and the ridiculous – but it's one that Luther fans have long accepted as a trait of the show. Whether the movie will then be able to pull in new fans is the question as, even though it effectively acts as a soft reboot, it's a divisive tone, especially when the plot is so relentlessly grim.

The movie can't quite escape the trappings of a TV movie despite the final act taking Luther outside of London to the stunning landscapes of Iceland. It's never quite cinematic enough otherwise and feels like it could be a two-parter, with an obvious section that could act as a cliffhanger to part one.

For Luther fans though, Luther: The Fallen Sun is more of the same and an improvement on the lacklustre final season. It doesn't hit the heights of the show's peak, but has an excellent villain and like the best of Luther , will leave you anxiously checking behind you next time you're in London.

Luther: The Fallen Sun is available to watch now on Netflix.

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Movies Editor, Digital Spy  Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor.  Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies , attending genre festivals around the world.   After moving to Digital Spy , initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.  

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Luther: The Fallen Sun review – Netflix film makes a good case for Idris Elba as the next Batman

The feature-length sequel to the bbc crime drama sees andy serkis terrorise a rainy, neo-noir london, article bookmarked.

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Luther , the BBC crime drama starring Idris Elba as a rule-adverse detective, was swiftly overtaken by cinematic ambition. What began as a relatively humble cop series set in a crime-ridden London became increasingly more absurd as it went on. By its fifth series, Luther was dealing with a killer in a clown mask shooting people full of nails. Luther: The Fallen Sun , a feature-length revival by Netflix , feels like an all-too-logical extension. The budget’s been upped considerably. Hollywood’s own Andy Serkis and Cynthia Erivo have been air-lifted in for support. And it’s fun, in the patently ridiculous way these sorts of zhuzhed-up thrillers tend to be.

The Fallen Sun isn’t much of a Bond audition for Elba – who’s had to shoot down rumours he’s the next 007 yet again this week – but it’s a solid argument for making him the next Batman. Here’s a neo-noir London soaked in perpetual rain, with a Soho far sleazier than in real life. There’s no sign of all the media professionals popping out for a quick Joe & The Juice. For director Jamie Payne, who was behind several episodes of the series, this is cinematic with a capital “c”. It’s the sort of stuff no one would have dreamed of for Luther back when it first aired in 2010.

While the original show’s central antagonist, Ruth Wilson’s murderous Alice Morgan, was arguably Luther’s Joker, here we get the distinctly Riddler-esque David Robey (Serkis). He’s a malevolent tech genius with a Siegfried and Roy mop of blonde hair, who murders in a way that would probably make the killer from Se7en proud. He surveys his crime scenes by peering in through windows wearing a smiling digital mask. Oh, and he likes to innocuously sing along to the Supremes in his car, because that’s the sort of thing that villains do.

Robey’s motivations revolve vaguely around the concept of shame. He uses an army of hackers to spy on people through their webcams and Alexas, then digs up their dirtiest secrets before blackmailing them into compliance. He’s mad about a perceived hypocrisy that allows cruelty and violence to dominate some spaces, but not others. You’d think Luther’s creator, Neil Cross – who also scripts the film – would circle this story back around to the question of Luther’s own brusque, vigilante approach to police work. Is there really energy left to be rooting for coppers who view themselves as judge, jury, and executioner? But to really answer that question might mean the end of Luther for good, so The Fallen Sun awkwardly dodges the implications of its own premise.

Still, it all feels so much like a comic book that we never really have to question Luther’s place in our world if we don’t want to. The chief draw here is – as ever – Elba. He’s always excelled at playing men who’ve lost everything and are irritated to discover they’re still expected to carry on as before. The real trick has been to make us like and root for even the most crotchety among them. Series five ended with Luther’s arrest for his various law-breaking tactics. The film, as expected, then, involves a dramatic prison breakout. Elba punches and kicks his way through waves of fellow prisoners with the weariness of someone swatting away flies. Dermot Crowley’s returning DSU Martin Schenk and Erivo’s counterintelligence operative Odette Raine provide the necessary counterbalance as sensible sorts with a begrudging respect for Luther’s determination.

There’s no real revelation at the heart of The Fallen Sun – either for its lead character or for everyone watching. This is exactly what you’d expect from Luther on the big screen, right down to the climactic trip to a mountain locale in which our hero trudges through arctic conditions in nothing but a shirt, tie, and herringbone wool overcoat. I wouldn’t expect any less of him.

Dir: Jamie Payne. Starring: Idris Elba, Cynthia Erivo, Andy Serkis, Dermot Crowley, Jess Liaudin. 15, 123 minutes.

‘Luther: The Fallen Sun’ is in select cinemas from 24 February, and will stream on Netflix from 10 March

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• Everything to Remember About <i>Luther</i> Before Watching the Movie

Everything to Remember About Luther Before Watching the Movie

T he crime thriller Luther: The Fallen Sun —starring Idris Elba in the titular role as former Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) John Luther—is dark and rich, much like the hit BBC show on which it is based.

The film, in select theaters on Friday and streaming on Netflix on March 10, follows Luther’s fall from grace and arrest, subsequent jailbreak, and pursuit of David Robey (Andy Serkis), a tech billionaire turned serial killer who uses in-home technology to surveil and blackmail his victims.

“He’s probably figured out that in the right circumstances, the fear of shame, the fear of being called out, the fear of being caught is way more powerful than the fear of death,” Luther tells DCI Odette Raine (Cynthia Erivo) of the villain he’s after.

The sentiment evokes the mood that infused the TV series, which originally aired in 2010. In the show, we are introduced to a version of Luther consumed by shame and guilt over letting a man named Henry Madsen fall to grave injury—even though Madsen was a pedophilic serial killer. The movie, which picks up shortly after the series ended in 2019, continues the story of Luther’s obsessive drive, further drawing out the grim worldview of Neil Cross, who created and co-wrote the show and returned to write the film.

“Basically, they allowed us to make Luther more itself, not less,” Cross said in the movie’s press notes.

Elba and Cross began discussing the potential for a movie early in the Luther -verse, around the end of the show’s first season. The disgraced DCI has never been seen outside of London until now, when he stows away to Norway to stop Robey’s gruesome “red room.”

Who is Luther?

When we meet Luther in the film, he is hot on the case of Callum Aldrich, a victim of David Robey’s, and doing his job a bit too well for Robey’s comfort. So the serial killer releases a dossier of incriminating information to the press, sending Luther to prison.

“He stands charged with a shocking catalog of crimes including breaking and entering, suspect intimidation, tampering with evidence, bribery,” says a reporter in the movie. “A litany of alleged vigilante activity that critics say attest to a man who felt entitled to take justice into his own hands time and time again.”

The news report mentions that Luther had recently apprehended husband and wife serial killers Jeremy and Vivian Lake, the main antagonists of Luther’s fifth and final season. The arrest in Luther: The Fallen Sun comes from the end of season five, when Luther’s tendency to skirt the law to solve crimes finally catches up to him.

From day one—the first episode of the first season—Luther has bent the law to his favor. When the series begins, he has just been reinstated to the police force after a months-long investigation into the Henry Madsen case. He’s already on thin ice, but in that same episode, he breaks into a suspect’s home to find and steal the murder weapon to prove a theory.

Yes, Luther serves the law, but he does so how he sees fit, a bull in the china shop of the Serious Crimes Unit. That singular moral compass reappears in the movie, in which Luther is simultaneously working to solve the David Robey case and on the lam from the law himself as a prison escapee.

What does the movie share with the series?

After Luther breaks out of prison, there comes a brief but glorious scene of him standing pensively on a roof (a favorite pastime of his) at sunrise, looking out over the London skyline—back in his trademark charcoal coat and red tie. Fans of the series will instantly recognize the look.

The movie’s creative team—including Cross and director Jamie Payne who also directed all of Luther’s fifth season—wanted to both cater to longtime fans of the show and welcome new viewers. “It was important that we respect and honor both audiences equally,” Cross said in the press notes. “That meant finding a way to acknowledge what had gone before without getting ourselves or anyone else weighed down by it.”

Key to that, Cross continued, was the history between Luther and Detective Superintendent Martin Schenk (Dermot Crowley), Luther’s boss and close friend in the show. Schenk—the only main character other than Luther to appear in all five seasons of the show—is also the only character to cross over into the movie. (Crowley returns to play him as well.)

“The tragedy,” Schenk counsels Luther in the movie, “is that you are a better man than you ever allowed yourself to be,” another sentiment that spans both mediums.

As the Luther: The Fallen Sun credits roll, a familiar song plays. “ Paradise Circus ,” by Massive Attack featuring Hope Sandoval, the theme to the original series, has been reimagined. Massive Attack’s Grant Marshall collaborated with Stew Jackson (collectively known as POST) and incorporated new vocals from Ghostpoet to craft a newer, grittier version.

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‘Luther: The Fallen Sun’ Review: Psycho Filler

A smoldering Idris Elba is no match for the preposterousness of this feature-length Netflix continuation of the popular BBC crime thriller.

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By Jeannette Catsoulis

Movies have never quite figured out what to do with Idris Elba. Imposing, charismatic and dauntingly intelligent, Elba has so far been most memorable on television — his intense, thoughtful style feeding on the intimacy and character-building patience of episodic storytelling.

Over five seasons on the BBC show “Luther” (2010-19), he played the titular London copper as a troubled, morally conflicted genius with an aversion to rules and an ongoing infatuation with a slinky psychopath (brilliantly played by Ruth Wilson). All wounded eyes and wool overcoat, Luther lumbered wearily from one grisly crime scene to another, losing loved ones and nabbing a series of increasingly implausible adversaries. Throughout, the character was a magnetic constant; the show’s problem was always finding villains worthy of him.

And that’s exactly where “Luther: The Fallen Sun” (directed by Jamie Payne and written by the show’s creator and sole writer, Neil Cross) trips, falls and never recovers. The inexplicable choice of a smirking Andy Serkis as the murderous David Robey, a cyber-sicko with limitless resources and incalculable mental issues, elicits more chuckles than chills. Decked out at one point in a velvet blazer and turtleneck, hair teased into the likeness of a dead stoat, Robey is less demented sadist than disco king. The scene where the diminutive devil — hopping and hooded like the killer in “Don’t Look Now” (1973 ) — fights the towering Luther on a subway platform is nothing less than ludicrous.

Body-mass differential aside, Luther and Robey are further hindered by a plot so dashed-off and indistinct that very little makes sense. Picking up generally where season five ended, with Luther heading to prison for his persistent vigilantism, this feature-length revival ( streaming on Netflix ) locks him up and gets him out with mystifying, head-spinning ease. Robey, seemingly assisted by a shadowy pod of followers, is busily hacking webcams and smart devices, recording shameful secrets and blackmailing their owners. For those who prefer to die rather than be exposed, Robey stages elaborate kill scenes, live-action tableaus that unfold with a pulpy majesty. In a movie that starts at fever pitch and rarely relents, these grisly interludes, captured by Larry Smith’s glowering camera, offer strangely haunting respites from the plot’s general chaos.

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Luther: The Fallen Sun

Brilliant but disgraced detective John Luther breaks out of prison to hunt down a sadistic serial killer who is terrorising London. Brilliant but disgraced detective John Luther breaks out of prison to hunt down a sadistic serial killer who is terrorising London. Brilliant but disgraced detective John Luther breaks out of prison to hunt down a sadistic serial killer who is terrorising London.

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• Trivia This film holds the notable accolade of managing to film at Piccadilly Circus for longer than any other production ever, with several night shoots having been filmed at the world-famous location.
• Goofs The vehicles come faster and faster onto Piccadilly Circus and crash violently. A driver's first instinct is to brake, so there should be lots of cars bumping into each others but not at high speed as shown.
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Luther: The Fallen Sun Reviews

Everything about Luther: The Fallen Sun is big. Even when it doesn’t need to be. Luther stands on top of buildings, smoldering at the London skyline. Why? Because James Bond did it.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Jul 3, 2024

Idris Elba once again proves that he doesn’t need to be James Bond when he’s John Luther, but the film seems more like yet another episode of the series that is scaled up for the big screen.

Full Review | Nov 16, 2023

Despite this film’s faults, there is enough to admire here to make longtime fans and newcomers wonder where Luther will turn up next.

Full Review | Aug 23, 2023

Fans of the show may find something more relatable to what makes this character unique apart from newcomers who may see little more than just another game-playing serial killer out for revenge.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Jul 5, 2023

Luther really is the British Batman: he's obsessed with bringing the bad guys to justice, he doesn't mind using illegal methods/violence to solve cases, and he refuses to kill suspects. That last part is applicable to classic Batman, not Snyder Batman.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 2, 2023

Never feels like more than a two-part episode, and a derivative one at that.

Full Review | Original Score: B- | May 20, 2023

The film is accessible to those who haven't seen the series and Elba's formidable charisma makes it even more watchable. Andy Serkis makes for a sinister villain and Cynthia Erivo is terrific as Luther’s new ally.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | May 1, 2023

This venture into the John Luther universe will be enjoyed by both newcomers and longtime fans of the show.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Apr 21, 2023

Nobody knows how to excitingly and gracefully wrap a story up. It’s the curse of screenwriting in this streaming era.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Mar 30, 2023

Idris Elba shines in the title character and continues to ooze charisma and charm with a hard and jaded edge. Andy Serkis is phenomenal as a villain and one who becomes a very formidable opponent for Luther… both physically and mentally.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Mar 24, 2023

Elba brings precisely the sort of screen energy that made him appear too big for TV to begin with by continuing to play up Luther’s ability to use his wits to great effect, let alone handle himself in action.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Mar 22, 2023

Idris Elba and Andy Serkis are at the top of their game.

Full Review | Mar 21, 2023

The movie doesn't evolve at any given moment and results in a commercial product decorated by the phrase: inspired by the TV series. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | Mar 20, 2023

I can watch and re-watch the first three series of Luther endlessly, but Fallen Sun is a fine reminder of why I stopped.

Full Review | Mar 20, 2023

A feature-length Luther chapter that is larger in scale than a regular episode but with the same darkness coursing through its veins.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 19, 2023

Luther: Fallen Sun is very gritty and definitely a Bad Things Happen in The Big City kind of movie. Lots of screaming, torture, shooting, and fighting, so if you don’t have the stomach for it, maybe hang back and catch a Murder She Wrote rerun.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 18, 2023

An arc fit for a Luther series has been compressed into a movie, but the story and characters have kept their flavour. Most importantly, Luther once more offers his pain for the salvation of others.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 15, 2023

With room for growth as a series, Luther: The Fallen Sun is a rewarding, exciting and brutal first foray for John Luther on a big canvas.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Mar 13, 2023

A thriller that hooks you in its first hour, thanks to the cat-and-mouse chase between Elba and Serkis. Unfortunately, the film runs out of gas and ends up being a passable suspenseful pastime albeit inconsequential... [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 13, 2023

In some ridiculous moments, Luther falls more into simplicity than into the night. But hey, most procedurals sin for being extravagant or absurd, and nobody goes around denouncing them. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 13, 2023

Review: Deft performances elevate snappy thriller ‘Unseen’; Idris Elba is back as ‘Luther’

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In the Michigan wilderness, the vision-impaired Emily (Midori Francis) — who has been abducted by her stalker ex-boyfriend Charlie (Michael Patrick Lane) — escapes into the woods without her glasses. She places a panicked call to a stranger who recently misdialed her. That stranger, Sam (Jolene Purdy), is a depressed stoner working a shift alone at a crummy Florida gas station. While she takes care of customers — including an obnoxiously demanding rich lady (Missi Pyle) — Sam acts as Emily’s eyes, guiding her to safety via their cellphone cameras.

Directed by Yoko Okumura from a screenplay by Salvatore Cardoni and Brian Rawlins, the chase thriller “Unseen” starts with this nifty premise, and for most of its short running time the filmmakers do a lot with it. Their style is snappy, with a frequent use of split screens to keep the action clear and a color scheme that distinguishes sunny Florida from gray Michigan. Their plotting is sharp too. A lot of thought has been put into how a janky old phone or wireless earbuds might affect Emily and Sam’s communication.

The film’s weakest parts involve shoehorning in more backstory for Emily and Sam as they talk about their lives to keep each other company. Yet even there, Francis and Purdy’s performances keep the scenes from feeling too much like an info-dump. The cast and the crew work well together in “Unseen,” delivering a taut, inventive picture about two young Asian American women helping each other survive one terrible day.

‘Unseen.’ Not rated. 1 hour, 16 minutes. Available on VOD

‘Luther: The Fallen Sun’

When the BBC TV series “Luther” debuted in 2010, it had two big things going for it. It had Idris Elba — already a veteran actor but not yet an international superstar — playing a police detective so committed to bringing down the worst of the worst that he frequently bent or even broke the law. It also had creator Neil Cross skillfully combining the grimness and violence of modern European mystery stories with the old-fashioned flash and action of a loose-cannon cop movie.

The first “Luther” film, “Luther: The Fallen Sun,” arrives four years after the show’s fifth and (thus far) final season. But this “Luther” doesn’t feel quite as special as the TV version did — perhaps because it’s not that unusual these days to see a hard-hitting, pulpy crime picture in which an ethically shaky detective stalks a serial killer.

Elba is still quite good as the antihero John Luther, who starts the story in jail due to some of the questionable choices he’s made over the years. When he inevitably escapes, Luther’s determined former colleague Odette Raine (Cynthia Erivo) mobilizes a team to find him. Meanwhile, the manipulative mastermind David Robey (played with entertaining gusto by Andy Serkis) is scandalizing London by broadcasting torture and murder on the internet.

The bulk of “Fallen Sun” leans on familiar “Luther” moves as our man ducks Raine while digging into Robey’s history — both in ways that raise questions about whether good guys sometimes need to be bad. Cross and director Jamie Payne (who also helmed the show’s Season 5) don’t radically reinvent the franchise here. Their budget allows for some bigger set-pieces and a wide variety of locations: from sleazy London sex shops to a spooky estate in a chilly clime. But “Fallen Sun” is best described as a movie-size version of a “Luther” season — which, for longtime fans, is better than no “Luther” at all.

‘Luther: The Fallen Sun.’ R, for disturbing/violent content, language and some sexual material. 2 hours, 9 minutes. Available on Netflix; also playing theatrically, Bay Theater, Pacific Palisades

‘I Got a Monster’

Anyone who watched writer-producers George Pelecanos and David Simon’s HBO six-episode drama “We Own This City” knows the story of the Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace Task Force, which went from being regarded as a community policing success story — with a phenomenal record for getting weapons and drugs off the streets — to becoming yet another cautionary tale of corruption. The TV series was great; but Kevin Casanova Abrams’ documentary “I Got a Monster” is good too, covering the same ground in a more compact running time, with some fresh perspectives.

Like the limited series, “I Got a Monster” focuses a lot on Sgt. Wayne Jenkins, whose GTTF crew was accused of robbing suspects, planting evidence and harassing law-abiding citizens. Abrams surrounds Jenkins’ story with anecdotes from some of the Baltimoreans who were terrorized and arrested by the force. The film’s centerpiece is a long and insightful interview with Ivan Bates, a defense attorney who spotted systematic irregularities in his criminal cases that pointed to something fishy going on. The documentary can feel a little scattered due to its multiple angles, but it remains a fascinating and relevant tale, examining how any criminal justice system built around the idea that cops never lie is ripe for abuse.

‘I Got a Monster.’ Not rated. 1 hour, 30 minutes. Available on VOD

‘Sound of Silence’

The Italian filmmaking collective known as T3 (consisting of writer-directors Alessandro Antonaci, Daniel Lascar and Stefano Mandalà) set out to jangle horror fans’ nerves with “Sound of Silence,” a supernatural thriller that uses sound itself as a weapon. After a prologue in which an older gentleman (Peter Stephen Wolmarans) is violently assaulted by a ghost conjured from an antique radio, the movie shifts focus to the man’s daughter, Emma (Penelope Sangiorgi), who flies home with her boyfriend Seba (Rocco Marazzita) to look after the house while her mom (Sandra Pizzullo) is at the hospital. While Emma — a professional singer — is playing around with her parents’ home studio equipment, she starts to hear some of the same eerie voices her dad did right before he was attacked.

Eventually, the spirits reveal to her the terrible crime that happened in that house long ago — though not before Emma wanders through a lot of dimly lighted, quietly atmospheric scenes, enduring a few jump-scares. “Sound of Silence” was expanded from a short, and frankly, there’s not enough character development or story here to fill a feature, and the film’s visual design lacks variety in both its locations and color palette. But the T3 crew are very good at ratcheting up tension through shifting shadows and abrasive noise. If nothing else, this movie is an effective demonstration of the directors’ ability to lull the audience into a relaxed state before knocking them around.

‘Sound of Silence.’ Not rated. 1 hour, 33 minutes. Available on VOD

In writer-director Welby Ings’ debut feature, “Punch,” Jordan Oosterhof plays the handsome young boxer Jim, beloved by the ladies and admired by many of the lads in his seaside New Zealand town. Then Jim befriends Whetu (Conan Hayes), an openly gay high schooler and aspiring singer-songwriter who squats in a shack on the beach and suffers the verbal and physical abuse of local hooligans. Their relationship gradually blossoms into something more, threatening Jim’s budding career, his reputation in the community, and his relationship with his loving but troubled father ( Tim Roth ). The plot of “Punch” follows a fairly predictable path, and it lurches into overheated melodrama in its second half. But Ings does a fine job of capturing the instant connection between these two young men and in conveying Jim’s combination of excitement and terror when he realizes this bond could evolve easily into a romance.

‘Punch.’ Not rated. 1 hour, 39 minutes. Available on VOD; also playing theatrically, Laemmle Glendale

Also on VOD

“Marlowe” stars Liam Neeson as Raymond Chandler’s iconic literary private eye in an adaptation of a 2014 Benjamin Black novel that offered a new mystery for Philip Marlowe to solve. Directed by Neil Jordan — with a screenplay co-written by Jordan with William Monahan — the movie is a handsome-looking neo-noir, aimed at anyone who digs retro tough guys. Available on VOD

“Missing” is a follow-up of sorts to the hit 2018 thriller “Searching,” which cleverly told a twist-filled story using nothing but what the characters could see on their computer and cellphone screens. The new film features entirely new characters and a new plot — involving a teenager (Storm Reid) looking for her missing mom (Nia Long) — but it sticks to the same innovative “screenlife” storytelling format. Available on VOD

Available now on DVD and Blu-ray

“Mildred Pierce” is a classic hybrid of steamy Hollywood melodrama and ice-cold film noir, starring Joan Crawford as a wronged woman who slowly rebuilds her middle-class life after her ex-husband leaves her with almost nothing — but soon finds that no amount of money can fix her problems, either with men or with her bratty teenage daughter (Ann Blyth). The new Criterion edition Blu-ray includes an assortment of vintage interviews, as well as a documentary about Crawford. The Criterion Collection

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Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Luther: The Fallen Sun’ on Netflix, in Which the Hit BBC Series Becomes a Retread of Serial Killer Thrillers

Where to stream:.

• Luther: The Fallen Sun

Sean Evans Reveals Which ‘Hot Ones’ Guest He Forced To Take A Break While Filming: “I’m Not Allowing You to Finish This”

Stream it or skip it: ‘knuckles’ on paramount+, where sonic the hedgehog’s warrior friend trains the schlubby wade whipple, can i watch ‘knuckles’ for free on paramount+ streaming info, new shows & movies to watch this weekend: ‘thank you, goodnight: the bon jovi story’ on hulu + more.

Acclaimed Idris Elba-fronted BBC series Luther treks on with feature film Luther: The Fallen Sun (now on Netflix), a standalone saga that more closely resembles an old-school serial-killer thriller than a prestige-TV show that racked up a sizable heap of award nominations since its 2010 debut. I mean, it’s set in a version of London that makes Gotham City look like Smurf Village. Its plot strains credibility like spanx on a sperm whale. And its antagonist, played by Andy Serkis with absurdly maniacal helmet hair, makes the Jigsaw Killer from Saw look like Winnie the Pooh. However, it does give us scads and scads of brooding Elba, countered by a smart performance from Cynthia Erivo ( Harriet ), which may just make it worth 130 minutes of your life.  

LUTHER: THE FALLEN SUN : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: The night: dark and stormy. The victim: A poor teenage gent, lured out by a man on the phone threatening to expose his secrets. The evil deed: Our gent stops at what appears to be an accident and the man on the phone, notably no longer on the phone, attacks and kidnaps him. The bad guy: David Robey (Serkis), a man with more money than sanity by a vast margin; he gets his kicks by blackmailing his victims with proof of all the no-nos they’ve indulged on the internet, then tortures and murders them. On the case: Luther (Elba), who’s somehow still employed despite being a police cop badge detective who colors way outside the lines. You know the type – your mother warned you about these guys, tall and dark and brooding and smoldering, and they’ve seen and done some shit and are almost certainly dynamite in the sack. ONE MILLION HEART EMOJIS.

Luther arrives on the scene and promises the victim’s anxious mother that he’ll find the kid, a promise that goes poof right quick via two developments: One, the kid’s body is found hanged in a mansion with several other victims’ bodies, which are discovered by the victims’ families just in time for the whole scene to burst into flames. (Don’t you HATE it when that happens?) And two, Luther’s unlawful misdeeds land him in maximum-security prison, where he, as a now former police cop badge detective, exists with a massive target on his back. Meanwhile, detective Odette Raine (Erivo) assumes the lead on the serial killer investigation. Unlike every other series of incidents involving such murderous sleazebagganos in the movies or real life, nobody bothers to nickname the killer. May I suggest the Catfisher? The World Wide Web Wacko? Maybe the Net Nut? So many possibilities.

Of course, Luther just has to get this guy, so he stages a prison riot that covers his escape from the pokey – although it’s not that easy, because he has to push and shove and punch and kick and headbutt his way out of a building full of guys who want to boil his bones in a broth, but he succeeds with hardly a scratch. (Don’t worry, by the time the movie ends, Luther will have sustained enough bruises, stab wounds, battered ribs and internal and external bleeding to give him a slight limp.) He pulls a sheet off his rapidly aging Volvo and gets to work in this rapidly aging plot, which surely fears the atrophy of a sedentary existence and therefore barrels full speed ahead, so you better hang on. It involves navigating backalley sex dungeons and abandoned subway tunnels and remote mansions by the Arctic Circle in Norway – note to Luther, zip up your damn coat, it’s cold up there – all while playing meow-and-squeak with detective Raine, who remains a half-step behind Robey and his f—ing hair, which is frustrating, his hair and the situation, because does the guy employ a personal stylist to get it like that or what, and because Luther is only a quarter-step behind him. Will the villain make this personal? Will our protags catch him? Will we ever see Luther walk into a store and buy at least one among his apparently endless supply of burner phones? NO SPOILERS.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Seven , The Batman , The Bone Collector , The Little Things , Saw , Saw II , Saw III , Saw V , Saw VI , The Snowman , Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie , etc.

Performance Worth Watching: Erivo and Elba get one very brief scene in which the unstoppable tank-division plot pauses for a beat or two and allows them to reveal tiny scraps of vulnerable character stuff. And after all this, these two very talented actors deserve to star in a My Dinner With Andre -type drama in which they play a cozy married couple who just sit in a sitting room sipping tea and talking about their favorite books.

Memorable Dialogue: Two cop characters, Archie (Thomas Coombes) and Luther’s old boss and loyal pal Martin (Dermot Crowley, reprising his role from the series), characterize our titular antihero:

Archie: Your friend’s giving me conniptions. Martin: Yes. He’ll do that.

Sex and Skin: Nah. All this grimness kills the mood.

Our Take: I don’t know what’s worse, that a movie introduces the increasingly wearisome idea of online-surveillance paranoia, or just uses it as a catalyst for a ridiculous series of ramped-up contrivances – diabolical schemes with nasty booby traps and countdown tickers – that constitute this plot. That woefully underdeveloped conceptual fodder merges with every cliche from the 1990s serial-killer film library to create a snappily paced, dragged-out, visually rich, thematically tedious, reasonably entertaining, annoyingly far-fetched chase-’em-down movie. I dunno, color me conflicted.

At least The Fallen Sun – complete nonsense title, by the way – looks good, with crisp editing, gloomy and artful cinematography and skillfully conceived and executed action set pieces (the prison break sequence stands out). But it rarely pauses to breathe and allow heavy-hitters Erivo and Elba time to play a character who isn’t reduced to a simplistic motivation and a means for exposition; it moves so rapidly through its plot points, we barely have a moment to consider that Luther is a superhuman creature who works night and day and never needs sleep and can maintain his wits despite enduring ungodly amounts of pain – as you do when human lives are at stake. Serkis, meanwhile, goes full glazed-ham, since significant effort must be exerted in order to not be upstaged by that hairpiece.

I dunno, without the series’ episodic structure, this Luther feels trapped in its feature-length structure, leaving little room for character development, contextual implications and subtext. It isn’t about much of anything, not moral ambiguity, the corruptibility of modern tech or even the origins of sociopathy. It’s a lousy procedural, in too much of a hurry to be detailed. It’s structured not as a suspenseful mystery but a haphazard chase lacking the type of twists and turns that might make it clever. And it’s unrelentingly grim and humorless. But hey, at least it’s handsome, right?

Our Call: Handsome same old stuff is still the same old stuff. SKIP IT.

John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

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Luther: The Fallen Sun film review — Idris Elba’s detective decamps from BBC to Netflix

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Netflix’s Luther movie makes the Idris Elba cop show bigger, wilder, weirder, and uglier

Andy Serkis’ billionaire baddie is a big new swing for a story that’s usually just about pounding crime into submission

by Rosie Knight

Luther: The Fallen Sun is a wild way to continue a BBC series. The show, centering on antihero John Luther (Idris Elba), has featured many unhinged villains over its five seasons, including dice-rolling Dungeons & Dragons fans, killer heart surgeons, and Satanic blood-drinkers. Netflix’s feature-length continuation pushes even further. Luther is a policeman who’s so violent, the only way to justify his vigilante actions is to put him up against the most heinous and outlandish crimes imaginable. This time out, he faces a cyber-savvy killer played by Andy Serkis. He’s a nearly omnipotent internet villain, bombastic and as oversized as the movie’s Netflix budget likely was. This is the most deranged dip into Luther’s world yet.

Directed by Jamie Payne and written by series creator Neil Cross, The Fallen Sun begins with a perfect example of the sort of nightmare-inducing setup that made Luther such a hit. A young man, Calum, gets an ominous call from a stranger, blackmailing him into driving to an isolated location. But he’s waylaid by something horrific in a sequence that’ll immediately join the annals of Luther’s best scares. This bleak start to the story sparks a cat-and-mouse conflict between Luther and the blackmailer, David Robey (Serkis). But while the man behind the killings is terrifying — and extremely theatrical, with Serkis bringing him to life via some powerfully bad wigs — the real goal is to make viewers scared of the way he uses the internet to find and target his victims.

The central premise — an extremely online killer who manipulates people by threatening to expose their secrets — taps into some familiar human fears about exposure and public shaming. Netflix viewers have seen this setup before, in the chilling Black Mirror episode “Shut Up and Dance , ” which The Fallen Sun feels heavily indebted to. But in one of Fallen Sun ’s smartest twists — and biggest departures from that Black Mirror entry — the specific details of Robey’s blackmail info on his victims rarely get revealed, leaving those secrets up to the audience’s imagination. It’s a choice that works on multiple levels: We’re left to think the worst, or in more tragic circumstances, decide the victim’s shame was misplaced, making it even easier to exploit.

The person who feels that the most, empathizing with those poor lost souls, is John Luther. Returning to the role that won him a Golden Globe and four Emmy nominations, Idris Elba is still a force to be reckoned with as the titular cop. There’s an almost Columbo-like nature to the way he sniffs out the evil of the rich and privileged, and his rumpled coat is surely a nod to Peter Falk’s iconic detective. But where Falk portrayed an underestimated genius, Elba is a barely repressed hurricane in human form. Luther is haunted by the violence he’s seen, and the violence it’s inspired in him. It’s a heady mix. With his gruffly charming London accent and near-constant fury, Elba is still infinitely watchable as the explosive, justice-hungry cop.

Like many classic TV detectives, Luther is something of a Luddite. He uses a flip phone and many burners. He doesn’t have a social media presence. That puts him on the outside of this case looking in, as the only person in the investigation who can see what others can’t: that the internet and smart-home devices let the killer spy on and control his victims.

While the hunt for Robey is classic Luther fodder in some ways, he also represents The Fallen Sun ’s biggest digression from the series’ formula. Where previous Luther villains have operated on smaller, more grounded scales, as lone-wolf murderers and gangland bosses, the Netflix budget and movie framework pushes the film into more outrageous territory. Robey isn’t just a wealthy and powerful killer; he’s eventually revealed as the mastermind behind a global operation, bringing one of the original internet urban legends to life.

The rumors have been around almost as long as the internet: Red Rooms are supposedly nefarious illegal sites where online viewers can pay to see real rape, torture, and murder. Filmmakers have drooled over the lurid possibilities of the Red Room myth for decades now, making The Fallen Sun feel like a throwback to ’00s horror like My Little Eye , FeardotCom, Cry_Wolf, and Untraceable. It’s an interesting contradiction: The more intimate aspects of Robey’s plan, built around using people’s darkest online secrets to humiliate them, feels viscerally contemporary and real. But his grimy underground torture rooms filled with camcorders, designed to please creepy online men around the world, feel like a remnant of internet fearmongering long since past.

To enjoy any of Luther , you have to understand that it’s a fantasy on multiple levels. It imagines a police vigilante who fights the worst parts of the institution he represents in order to catch killers and protect the vulnerable. But he’s also constantly demolishing civilians’ civil liberties. That’s why deeply vile, uncompromising villains like Robey are key. Justifying Luther’s behavior means focusing on the most abhorrent crimes possible, which ultimately makes Luther feel more like a horror series than a police procedural.

The Fallen Sun takes that dynamic to the next level, making its villain not only a sadistic killer, but an untouchable billionaire with an army and a secret Bond-movie-style Norwegian underground lair. Fallen Sun fits the always-surreal nature of Luther and its imaginary world of good and evil, but the expanded world, short-form story, and hyper-exaggerated villainy does lessen the impact of Luther’s moral quest to stop Robey.

Much of Luther ’s power comes from Elba’s ruffled cop and his conflicted heart. While John does terrible things that often make the audience unsure whether to root for him, he does them for reasons he believes are right. Thanks to the long-form nature of the original TV series, there’s time for him to make connections and friendships, alliances and enemies. The Fallen Sun has no time for any of that. There’s no misguided young person for him to protect, no new partner to annoy, cajole, and ultimately bond with and save. While Elba is still the beating heart of the story, he’s laser-focused on Robey and his ever-escalating crimes. The violence John is facing is so outlandish, with such high stakes, that Luther rarely feels conflicted. He seems more like a two-dimensional, righteous antihero here than the complex vigilante he was in the original series.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though. Luther ’s original, terrific five seasons still exist. It’s easy to revisit them for depth, character development, and overarching arcs filled with morally complex quandaries. In contrast, The Fallen Sun is here to offer up giant set-piece killings, the likes of which haven’t been seen since the horror-TV heyday of Hannibal. It’s for everyone who wants to watch a rarely better Idris Elba on a two-hour-plus rampage through London, demolishing anything that gets in his way. And it’s a playground for a delightfully demented performance from Serkis, who chews scenery just as consistently as his character inventively kills innocent people just to toy with Luther. Fallen Sun is a condensed, balls-to-the-wall reinvention of the Luther viewers know and love, with the sadism and showmanship turned up to 11, and some classic internet nightmare-fuel thrown in for good measure.

Luther: The Fallen Sun is now streaming on Netflix.

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Luther: The Fallen Sun movie review: it’s good to have Idris Elba’s crime-fighter back

Luther is back, and by god we’ve missed him. The last time Idris Elba’s DCI John Luther graced our screens was more than four years ago, when the fifth and final series aired in January 2019. After that, the showrunners vowed they wouldn’t return for a sixth series and would be letting our favourite semi-bent copper get some very necessary rest.

Except - surprise! It wasn’t for long, because creator Neil Cross then decided that Luther would be resurrected for a feature length film instead...

This time around, things are bigger, badder and even grittier than before. Luther is tracking down another murderer, he’s breaking out of prison, he’s saving even more lives and he’s standing on much higher buildings to do his brooding. He’s also basically Bond - but we’ll get to that.

Luther: The Fallen Sun picks up shortly after season five, when Luther is fresh from his latest run-in with a twisted, prolific serial killer (no shortage of those in London, apparently) and moving on to his next case. He starts looking into the disappearance of a teenage boy, Callum Aldrich, who was being blackmailed by David Robey, played by Andy Serkis on very creepy form.

One thing leads to another and Robey becomes Luther’s newest tormentor. He gets Luther thrown into jail because, as he and the audience knows, Luther can solve any case, even if he gets shot, stabbed or has his family members murdered in the process.

This is where the fun begins. Luther breaks out of prison with a classically Lutherish ease and sets to work tracking Robey down. But Serkis’ killer is not like the underground, small-time murderers of Luther seasons past; no, he’s in the big leagues: he kills multiple people, over periods of years. He has an agenda, too, which feels uncannily similar to that of a… Bond villain.

This is the overwhelming feeling of Luther: The Fallen Sun – it is Idris Elba’s go at Bond, except he’s grumbly, lumbering DCI John Luther instead of swish Agent 007. Some of the comparisons are easy to draw: there is a Tube tunnel chase, scenes set in a weird country home in a tundra landscape (a first for Luther, who doesn’t usually make it past the M25) and a baddie with a motive that feels more like world domination than the previous series’ plain old murder. There’s even a direct nod to Bond when Luther enters a bar and is offered a martini, which he then turns down – subtle.

Once again, Elba completely embodies the character of Luther, slipping back into the role like a glove. His one liners hit and his on-the-ground investigation scenes are as compelling as ever, but as the plot advances he feels out of place, like he’s doing a strange cameo in another franchise.

The third act of the movie, where Serkis’ skin-crawling villain enacts his master plan, is completely ridiculous and takes away from any of the trust established in the film. Serkis starts off eerily theatrical (he sings Diana Ross, he kisses victims on the forehead, he shouts “woohoo” when things are going to plan) but his campy, creepy brilliance loses colour when it’s blown out on a bigger scale. He’d have been a great villain for the show, but unfortunately he was cast in the Luther/Bond multiverse film, so it doesn’t quite work. Schenk is as brilliant as always, but every other character just feels like background noise.

Ultimately, we leave Luther with the same taste of dissatisfaction that we left series five, which is a shame. On the plus side, there’s enough of the good, old Luther-ish stuff here to more than redeem it. Settle in for the ride.

Luther: The Fallen Sun is in cinemas now; it will air on Netflix from March 10

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Netflix's Luther: The Fallen Sun Review: Andy Serkis' Unhinged Performance Elevates An Unfortunately Hyperpaced Thriller

Idris elba returns as dci john luther..

To be perfectly frank and upfront, I am not the number one target audience for Jamie Payne’s Luther: The Fallen Sun . Over the years, friends and colleagues have recommended the BBC series on which the new film is based, understanding my appreciation for both detective fiction and the work of Idris Elba , but I haven’t had the opportunity to watch the show myself (in my defense, there’s a whole lot of great stuff out there). As such, I can’t speak to how the movie advances previously engaged themes, develops established characters, or compares to the storytelling with which fans are familiar. But viewed independently of what came before, I can call it at least good enough to pique a bit more interest in the series than I previously had, though I would hope that the serial storytelling would have a bit more to offer than what’s delivered in feature form. 

Release Date : February 24, 2023 (Theaters), March 10, 2023 (Netflix)  Directed By : Jamie Payne Written By:  Neil Cross Starring:  Idris Elba, Andy Serkis, Cynthia Erivo, and Dermot Crowley Rating:  R (disturbing/violent content, language and some sexual material)

The Netflix original features a good number of exciting, well-executed sequences, and Andy Serkis is given fun latitude to play an unapologetically hyper-evil sadist, but the narrative is far too tight for the movie’s own good. One gets the sense that it was originally developed for a full season of the original show, but that reduced runtime real estate forced a crunching of all the major plot points to fit inside two hours. Everything is rushed to the point of feeling unreal, which takes away from the thrill of detective-centric storytelling as characters work through clues to find answers to the central mystery.

Written by Luther creator Neil Cross, the film centers around Serkis’ David Robey – a psychotic individual who orchestrates a massive blackmail ring. When DCI John Luther (Idris Elba) begins investigating the disappearance of one of Robey’s victims, Robey’s people do some digging and successfully have him thrown in prison for misconduct committed as a police officer. Being law enforcement surrounded by convicted criminals, Luther’s life is rough behind bars, and it’s made only harder by taunts that Robey sends him.

Unable to move on, Luther orchestrates a prison break so that he can work the streets searching for the villain. As the disgraced detective hunts for his target, he himself is hunted by the police, with DCI Odette Raine ( Cynthia Erivo ) coordinating with Martin Schenk (Dermot Crowley), Luther’s retired former boss.

Luther: The Fallen Sun hits its big plot beats so quickly that it undermines the mystery.

It’s a pretty crazy thing to see a movie have its protagonist start solving a crime, get thrown in prison, and escape prison all in the first act – but, for what it’s worth it does turn out to be a set pace that the film works with until the end credits roll. Unfortunately, it does the story and its characters a disservice. Part of the fun of a cat-and-mouse game between played between cinematic cops and criminals is witnessing the process the former uses to capture the latter and the craft the latter uses to escape the former, but Luther: The Fallen Sun doesn’t provide the audience with any time to savor the titular hero’s skills as an investigator or the slyness of the villain.

Almost immediately after his jail break, Luther is able to find the source of a transmission that was broadcasting David Robey’s taunts to a radio in his cell, and just as it seems like a big hunt is on, the two principal characters are meeting face-to-face. Without giving too much away, Robey manages to escape this encounter, and it seems like the big hunt is on again… but then Luther almost immediately figures out who he is and starts closing in again. The film has no time for twists or red herrings to spice things up and put the audience on seat’s edge; the investigation is a long stretch of straight road that just has a few speedbumps.

There’s not a lot of depth in Andy Serkis’ performance, but it’s a hell of a lot of fun to watch.

It may not be much of a mystery, but Luther: The Fallen Sun is certainly watchable, and it’s mostly because of the work put in by Andy Serkis. The character is ludicrous – from his ridiculous swath of blond hair to his act as a gleeful P.T. Barnum of cruelty – but Serkis is clearly loving every minute of the performance, and it’s infectious for the audience. If David Robey had a mustache, he would be twirling it constantly, and I would admittedly appreciate the performance all the more for it. His monstrous over-the-top-ness invites you to take the whole thing less seriously, which, given its weird plot problems, is alleviation that the film needs.

Luther: The Fallen Sun doesn’t really aim at being a horror movie, but its big set pieces make an argument that it is one anyway.

Further to David Robey’s credit, he’s a villain who most definitely isn’t all bluster and talk, as his actions and orchestrations are deeply messed up – and any horror fans watching will applaud the disturbing work done by Jamie Payne and Neil Cross in Luther: The Fallen Sun . From burning hung corpses, to a mass suicide, to child abduction, to audio recordings of torture, the movie goes to some dark and chilling places that will shock any audience. This shock value does have some artificiality because of the rigidness of the plot, and there isn’t a whole lot of originality involved, but it’s impossible to argue that it’s not effective in making one’s eyeballs pop and inspiring one to at least mutter (if not shout) “What the fuck?!”

Luther: The Fallen Sun hasn’t inspired me to instantly start diving into Luther and learn how the film fits with the long-running series, but the title will at least remain on my streaming watch list, and I can’t say I feel dissuaded from checking it out. I’ll eventually cross it off the list – but for now, my bigger priority is hoping that Andy Serkis will take on more unhinged roles such as this in the future.

Eric Eisenberg is the Assistant Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. After graduating Boston University and earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism, he took a part-time job as a staff writer for CinemaBlend, and after six months was offered the opportunity to move to Los Angeles and take on a newly created West Coast Editor position. Over a decade later, he's continuing to advance his interests and expertise. In addition to conducting filmmaker interviews and contributing to the news and feature content of the site, Eric also oversees the Movie Reviews section, writes the the weekend box office report (published Sundays), and is the site's resident Stephen King expert. He has two King-related columns.

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Should You Watch ‘Luther: The Fallen Sun’ on Netflix?

Our PLAY, PAUSE or STOP review of Idris Elba's new Netflix move.

Idris Elba as John Luther in Luther: The Fallen Sun. Cr: Netflix © 2023

The film follow-up to the Luther TV series, Luther: The Fallen Sun , is now streaming, but should you watch it?

Four years after the final episode of the Luther TV series, Idris Elba and company are back for another high-profile case.

A co-production between Netflix & BBC, Luther: The Fallen Sun is the long-awaited execution of an idea for a standalone Luther movie that started with initial scripts back in 2013. As fans of the series know, the show continued until 2019, which delayed the plans for the film until it was announced in 2020 and shooting starting in the Fall of 2021 .

In order to capture the essence of the show, Luther showrunner Neil Cross (known for The Mosquito Coast ) penned the script & produced the project while tapping season 5 director, Jamie Payne, to match the tone and visual language of what made the series successful.

Although it was imperative that Idris Elba return as hardboiled detective John Luther, the film also brought back show regular Dermot Crowley to reprise his role as DSU Martin Schenk. Alongside Elba and Crowley, the cast is bolstered by prominent actors such as Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo ( Harriet, Widows ) and franchise necessity Andy Serkis, who has been the key villain for the cinematic universes of Star Wars, Lord of the Rings , and the MCU’s Black Panther.

After 5 seasons of bending the rules, losing many loved ones, and wrestling with his own existence, The Fallen Sun opens with an emotionally damaged Luther being brought in on the case of a missing young man Callum Aldrich, who disappeared after calling the police. The man behind the disappearance of Callum grows concerned with Luther’s involvement and digs up enough dirt on his past exploits during his career to get him fired, prosecuted, and sent to prison. After receiving a transmission from this new serial killer while in captivity, Luther must break out of prison to go on the hunt for this new terror roving the streets of London.

While the main plot and new killer don’t have any connection to the TV series, this film does rely on prior knowledge to truly understand and enjoy the character of Luther. His enhanced interrogation style, his penchant for working with criminals and killers to get what he wants, and the casualties he’s lost from operating in the grey are all quite vital when trying to understand why he goes to jail or why he is so eager to put his life on the line for people he doesn’t know.

Picture: Netflix

However, the film does just enough to stand alone and gives a level of striking visuals and deadly stakes to keep the audience engaged even if you haven’t seen every moment from the TV series . The story utilizes an omnipresent, wealthy, and devious mastermind in Serkis’ David Robey who seems to have the motive and means to blackmail and terrorize at will. The paranoia mixed with such dark levels of destruction and devastation is what makes the threat so real and persistent for much of the film. Scenes like the discovery of the hanging bodies at the mansion and the suicides at Piccadilly Circus make the film more macabre than most serialized detective shows and amps up the cinematic quality for a show trying to level up.

While there is enough here to satisfy most viewers, there are some lesser elements that could send die-hards back to catching re-runs.

Without the wild card element of someone like Alice Morgan or the potential pitfalls of Luther losing yet another person in his life that truly matters, the film has to focus on a very straightforward cat-and-mouse story with a lot of reliance on performances to carry the load.

While some of the set pieces of murders and suicides are compelling, Andy Serkis’s performance seemed to never measure up. His standard motives of being cast out of society for his devilish nature are more basic than you’d hope for the cinematic upgrade and Serkis does not seem to be suited for a more menacing type. As the film progresses towards its frozen backdrop conclusion, it becomes more and more evident that the lack of connection and chemistry between Luther and Serkis holds the film back and the lesser stakes personally for Luther make the plot thinner than its icy setting.

Overall, Luther: The Fallen Sun has enough visual flair and persistent threats from its villain to make for a satisfying enough film to satiate the desire of fans to see Elba adopt the Luther character once more. However, with a lack of personal connection and stakes for Luther and an underwhelming performance from Serkis, the story can only take us so far.

Watch Luther: The Fallen Sun If You Like

• True Detective
• The Equalizer
• Perry Mason

MVP of Luther: The Fallen Sun

Idris Elba as John Luther.

No shock here. He is the movie as much as he is the show. From his fight scene prowess in the prison sequence to his daring heroics in the frozen tundra, Idris Elba showed us all that he hasn’t missed a step.

PLAY, PAUSE, OR STOP?

Fans of the show and novices alike should get something out of their viewing experience. However, fans might be used to something a little deeper and more complex.

Andrew Morgan is a film critic & podcaster with 20 years of experience on the sets & offices of film & television. Current podcast host of the entertainment review show, Recent Activity. He lives in the Northeast of the United States.

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Review: Idris Elba returns as Luther in grisly Netflix film

This image released by Netflix shows Idris Elba in a scene from “Luther: The Fallen Sun.” (John Wilson/Netflix via AP)

This image released by Netflix shows Cynthia Erivo in a scene from “Luther: The Fallen Sun.” (John Wilson/Netflix via AP)

This image released by Netflix shows Andy Serkis in a scene from “Luther: The Fallen Sun.” (John Wilson/Netflix via AP)

This image released by Netflix shows Cynthia Erivo, left, and Dermot Crowley in a scene from “Luther: The Fallen Sun.” (John Wilson/Netflix via AP)

This image released by Netflix shows Dermot Crowley in a scene from “Luther: The Fallen Sun.” (John Wilson/Netflix via AP)

This image released by Netflix shows Lauren Ajufo in a scene from “Luther: The Fallen Sun.” (John Wilson/Netflix via AP)

This image released by Netflix shows Hattie Morahan in a scene from “Luther: The Fallen Sun.” (John Wilson/Netflix via AP)

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For anyone holding on to some latent hope that Idris Elba will be the next James Bond, I have some bad news: “ Luther: The Fallen Sun ” puts (another) nail in that very firmly sealed coffin. In one of the rare moments of levity in the sinister film, the embattled detective John Luther sits down at a chic bar and tells the bartender it’s been a long day (an understatement).

“I would say a long day calls for a martini,” the bartender says.

Luther’s response? “No.” He’ll take some water, and, “if it makes you happy you can make it fizzy.”

This was not an accidental moment, “Luther” creator Neill Cross has said. Elba even wondered if it was a bit too cheeky. But it’s worth remembering that Elba doesn’t need Bond. He’s already got a moody, tortured bachelor with a talent for hunting bad guys. And Luther belongs exclusively to him.

In this outing, written by Cross and directed by Jamie Payne, Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) John Luther finds himself imprisoned for his unconventional methods at work and haunted by the unsolved missing person case that opens the film and sets its macabre tone. His imprisonment and the missing teen are related — the work of a wealthy villain David Robey (Andy Serkis) who film introduces to the audience as such in the first few moments.

Serkis’ character is a kind of gentleman psychopath, with his blown out James Spader in “Pretty in Pink” coif and maniacal smile. He’s one of those villains for whom chaos, misery and gore are the point. David Robey is methodical, patient and unsparing — he’ll even go so far as to befriend the families of his victims after the fact.

At the start, the film takes on a kind of David Fincher vibe, with echoes of “Seven” and “Zodiac” crossed with some of Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight.” Unfortunately it takes the conceit to such absurd lengths by the end that the premise takes on an unintentional silliness. That’s not even counting the brawls between Elba and Serkis, whose sizes could not be more mismatched.

But the good news is that it’s a pretty fun, tense ride up until that point with some stunning shots of London at night. Elba slips back into Luther like no time has passed, though he has taken on some superhero-adjacent talents here, evident in his escape from jail — a sequence that is somehow both violent and cartoonish. It’s not an easy or straightforward role, but Elba makes it look so. This is a guy who is so devoted to his former job that he’ll risk death to break out of prison and get right back to work trying to solve the case, knowing well that he’s also being hunted by his replacement, DCI Odette Raine (Cynthia Erivo, not to be trifled with).

Odette does not want to collaborate with Luther and even enlists his old boss Martin (Dermot Crowley, a comforting presence) to help figure out how to find him. This resistance starts to get a tad redundant and futile, especially since it’s quite obvious that eventually they’ll figure out a way to collaborate and perhaps could have saved some lives had they done so earlier. And at times, you just kind of wish Luther could take a vacation — it can be exhausting watching his relentless pursuit, but there’s little room for boredom in a movie that never lets its protagonist take a breath.

And then of course there’s the ludicrous theatrics of Robey’s ultimate plan, which hinges on the assumption that would be serial killers and snuff-porn fetishists are everywhere just waiting for a twisted mind to live-stream gruesome murders. As if going by some bad guy checkbook, this “Saw”-like game show also takes place in a hidden lair in the snowy north.

But even though it may go over-the-top at the end, Elba keeps you interested.

You needn’t have watched all five seasons of “Luther” to take a chance on “Luther: The Fallen Sun.” But there’s also a chance that you may find yourself wanting to afterwards.

“Luther: The Fallen Sun,” a Netflix release streaming Friday, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for “disturbing/violent content, language and some sexual material.” Running time: 129 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

MPA Definition of R: Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr .

September 12, 2024

Watch the Trailer for Luther Vandross Documentary Luther: Never Too Much (Exclusive)

Luther Vandross’ story is being told.

The R&B crooner’s life story opens in theaters starting Nov. 1. It will then premiere on CNN, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, and Max in 2025.

Luther: Never Too Much, a new documentary by Giant Pictures, will chronicle the life of the late R&B singer, songwriter and record producer, who died from health complications at 54. “It was a joy to work on this film,” award-winning filmmaker Dawn Porter said in a statement.

She added, “Luther was a spectacularly talented performer, composer and producer. His influence was found in multiple genres, and it was a delight to discover each one. It has been so much fun to see longtime fans remember why they love him, and new fans come to understand his brilliance.”

The documentary had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, and later went on to be shown at the Tribeca Film Festival, Hot Docs International Film Festival and Nantucket Film Festival, among many others.

“The whole Giant Pictures team fell in love with Luther: Never Too Much following its stellar film festival run this year. The film is a huge crowd-pleaser and a must-see, not only for existing fans of Luther Vandross, but also for those discovering his incredible talents for the first time. We are excited to partner with Sony Music, Raindog Films and CNN Films on this nationwide theatrical release,” said Nick Savva, general manager of Giant Pictures.

Per a press release, there will be nationwide sneak previews through AMC theaters before the film opens in theaters throughout North America starting Nov. 1. It will then premiere on CNN, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, and Max in 2025.

The film will include more than 40 years of archival footage from the “Dance with My Father” crooner, as well as new interviews from Mariah Carey, Roberta Flack, Jamie Foxx, Richard Marx and Dionne Warwick.

Foxx, 56, who serves as one of the film’s producers, shared how playing Vandross’ music would always help him score points while dating.

“Back in the day, if you wanted to fall in love, you let Luther do the work for you,” he said. “So I would put the phone up to the radio — and what’s crazy is you had to wait for it to come on the radio.”

He continued, “So I would put the phone up to the radio and say, ‘This is what I want to tell you.'”

Fans of Vandross will also hear how he got his start after he crashed a recording session for David Bowie’s Young Americans and became one of the most sought-after backup singers for artists such as Chic, Barbra Streisand and Aretha Franklin before his 1981 solo breakout R&B hit “Never Too Much.”

The “Here and Now” artist died in 2005 due to “a combination of stroke, diabetes and hypertension,” his niece, Seveda Williams, told PEOPLE about her Grammy-winning late uncle in celebration of Black Music Month.

“He was singing up to the last minute,” she added. “I hope people see him as human, a man who had a great career, but a man who lived a life.”

-From People Magazine. Read the article here.