Of Luther: The Fallen Sun

Luther: The Fallen Sun

Luther: The Fallen Sun is a 2023 crime thriller film directed by Jamie Payne and written by Neil Cross. The film stars Idris Elba (who is also a producer on the film) alongside Cynthia Erivo and Andy Serkis.

It is a self contained sequel to the British Television crime series Luther starring Idris Elba as Detective Chief Inspector John Luther who is not averse to burning the book of rules to get things done. The movie was released to select cinemas on 24 February 2023 followed by a Netflix release on 10 March 2023 where it went to the top of the chart within its release week…

The plot revolves around Luther who will have fallen from grace and is trying to redeem himself by solving a case about sadistic villain who has a penchant for manipulating people to do his bidding and worse…

The Good

Its Idris Elba!

Before watching this movie, I was not aware that it is a continuation of the TV Series Luther which ran for 5 seasons with 20 episodes. So after a 4 year hiatus this movie brings back Idris Elba starring in what I have come to learn is his most iconic role as DCI John Luther.

The movie has some solid camera work riddled with chase scenes and stunning action sequences that scream they were not holding back on the budget, go big or go home.

The villain is infuriating rational, and not someone simply wreaking mayhem but calm and reassuring, while meticulously planning and carrying out sadistic misdeeds who could also trade blow for blow and match wit for wit with the antihero protagonist.

The Bad

It is somewhat cliched with some rather glaring potholes sometimes to the point of ridiculousness. I kept thinking of that trope where a brilliant detective cant effectively solve a case until after they get suspended or removed from the case…

Instead of focusing on the case at hand, the authorities focus all their resources on catching their erstwhile hotshot agent, who happens to be the only person who can solve the case or catch the bad guy… like hello? 🤷‍♂️

While the premise of this movie and its title Luther: The Fallen Sun is suppose to show us that Luther has fallen from grace… there isn’t enough story to explain how he wound up there… (maybe that’s something that people who have watched the series might be in a better position to know) In the movie, he is basically a decent block, always in his coat and tie even while bruised and battered, ready to go to the ends of the world, to do what needs to be done.

They had the budget for it, but its like they were unsure what to do with it, sometimes it came across like an audition movie for James Bond and a couple of times I got some distinctly Gotham City vibes with Luther being Vengeance, watching over the city…

The Ugly

It explores some rather dark and sadistic themes, like are we really good people or we just pretend to be good to conform and given the right motivation…well…

The manipulation of secrets and shame that was used to control people in the movie is a portrayal of today’s very real and ugly truth where in just a click someone can spread something damning about you… something you would rather die than have exposed or go viral.

In the movie they never do reveal what exactly was the tipping point for people, which kind of made it an absurd sort of threat, what would someone have on you that would make you behave in that way…Maybe leaving things undefined gave it a sense of intrigue but it came across more as a plot hole especially when a character confesses that it wasn’t even that big of a deal…. Come on!!!

Final Thoughts

The end of the movie has had people wondering if they were setting up for a sequel or maybe a grand entrance for the next 007…. Well, I would go with maybe they are setting up for Batman, ha! (FYI I know nothing about Idris Elba being considered for a Batman role… you tell me?)

Did you know: Netflix asked Neil Cross to change the gender of the first victim in the movie from a woman to man, to make it less scary… Plus to potentially deflect outrage over how TV and film tends to capitalise on victimisation of women to crank up impact.

Have you watched Luther? Are you a fan of Idris Elba?