'Luther: The Fallen Sun (2023)' is the continuation of the famous TV series 'Luther'. The TV series was entertaining for me and I enjoyed it very much even though I stopped at the second season. I don't know what happened but I think life and work got in the way.
When I heard that a movie was in the works which will serve as a continuation to the TV series, I was ecstatic and anxious to watch it. To be honest, I saw the movie a few weeks ago and have been hesitant to post a review because of how I felt about it afterwards.
'Luther: The Fallen Sun (2023)' is a crime thriller movie that was produced by a large group of people, including Idris Elba. The movie was distributed by Netflix directed by Jamie Payne and written by Neil Cross. Idris Elba played the main character in the film, which also starred Andy Serkis, Dermot Crowley, and Cynthia Erivo. The plot of the movie centers around John Luther (Idris Elba), who escapes from prison to bring down a vicious serial killer who is hellbent on destroying John's career and frightening London.
A Little About The Plot.
The movie begins with Callum Aldrich, a young man, receiving a phone call from a serial killer David Robey. David blackmails this young man into doing his will, and it is later revealed that he was kidnapped by David. So John Luther was tasked with solving the case and returning Callum back to his mother. During his investigation into Callum's kidnapping, John promised his mother that he would find her son by whatever means necessary but it didn't work out that way.
David realized that Luther was on to him, so to derail Luther's efforts on the case, David dug out some old dirt on Luther and used it against him to get him dismissed, convicted, and imprisoned. During Luther's confinement, David got busy and annoyingly creative by tricking all the parents of his kidnapped victims' together with Callum's mother to a house/mansion in the middle of nowhere, only for the parents to discover that the body of their children was hanging from the ceiling of the house/mansion. He then set fire to their bodies with a prearranged explosive phone on the floor, allowing the parents to see their children's bodies burn with the house.
After David committed this heinous act, he sent a recording of Callum's last moments before he killed him to Luther in prison. This enraged Luther, and he began to find every means possible of getting himself out of prison to apprehend David. The chase is on now; will Luther succeed in bringing down David? Will there be justice?
Characters.
Idris as John Luther
Idris acted as an efficient and intelligent detective, but he was dismissed and imprisoned for his unorthodox ways. His performance was engaging and amazing. He was the main character, and he also made sure to remain in the spotlight in every scene. His character was strong and persistent regardless of all that he encountered, and at the end he achieved his aim. The only problem I had with his character was his fighting skills and stunts. I mean, he is a detective; why fight like a farmer or someone who is just trying to survive death with survival instinct?
Andy as David Robey
Andy acted as a tech billionaire who is a psychotic and sadistic serial killer who was hell-bent on getting Luther's attention and ruining his career, which he successfully did. His role was well scripted with a sadistic tone, which made him the perfect opponent for Luther. His performance was fantastic; I mean, he is always playing a villain. If you have watched him in 'Black Panther (2018)' and 'Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)', you know what I am talking about. His performance made the movie more interesting and challenging to watch with tension as he rocked his questionable, ridiculous and distracting wig, he still manages to turn in an amazing creepy performance.
Cynthia as DCI Odette Raine
Cynthia acted as the detective who replaced Luther's old boss. She was also in charge of apprehending David while Luther was in confinement. Her performance was the worst; her character was poorly built; her mannerisms didn't fit her role; and she acted like an amateur to me. I felt like her role was unnecessary. If another person would have carried her role with more grace and passion it would have been better.
My Review And Rating.
Rating this movie, I give it 3.8 out of 5 stars. The reason why I was reluctant to write a review on the movie was because I went in to watch this movie with excitement and high expectations from the series. I was disappointed, and I didn't even know what to say about the movie. This follow-up movie to the series is disappointing; I wish they would have done better.
When I was watching the movie, I was a little bit bored from the beginning because the beginning was slow. I had to pause it and come back to it after a few days. The movie lacks originality and intrigue, as it recycles many elements from many other movies similar to it.
The plot was okay, but it had many holes and moments that didn’t add up, but I also think the problem was the cast, action scenes, villain's ridiculous appearance and plot arrangement. That was what messed up the movie for me.
Setting was cool, the location for filming was amazing and incredible, I loved it. The director did a good job but failed with fight stunts, because I felt like I was watching some bunch of farmers looking for the thief that stole their farm produce. The ending was not satisfying and it was unrealistic to me. I was expecting that the movie had a good ending but the ending just made the movie seem like a B-class movie.
If you have watched the series, I recommend and advise you against watching this follow up movie because it is going to be a big disappointment for you and you won't be satisfied with it.
All images above are from the movie screenshots
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