I have never seen an episode of the British TV series Luther, which ran on the BBC from 2010-2019 and starred Idris Elba as the titular character. However, that did not prevent me from wanting to see the new Netflix film featuring the character and said to be a direct continuation of the show.

I would say that I never felt that, because I had never seen the TV show before, I was confused or not sure what was going on. I would venture to say that you do not have to have seen the show in order to watch this movie. It may give you more background or a deeper understanding of the characters but it is not a necessary requirement.

Luther: The Fallen Sun saw the return of Elba to the role, as he matched up with cast members Cynthia Erivo and Andy Serkis.

John Luther was on the case of a serial killer who was murdering individuals that he would blackmail into helping him by certain secrets that the people did not want revealed. However, when Serkis, whose character was named David Robey, found out, he used his connections to pull all of the dark secrets from Luther’s time as a brutal cop and send him to his own justice and a prison cell.

When Luther learned of David’s victims through a video David sent to him, he decided that he needed to escape from prison and continue his pursuit of the murderer.

Andy Serkis is downright chilling in this film. He is such an amazing performer because I bought him 100% as a brutal serial killer who was getting off on his machinations. He pulled off some horrendous cruelty along the way and displayed a cold, calculating evil unlike few I have seen before.

Idris Elba was excellent here as well and the pair of them had some powerful confrontations during the two hour plus movie. Dermot Crowley revisited his character Martin Schenk from the show as the retired Detective Superintendent, the former head of the Serious and Serial Crime Unit and Luther’s former boss. Crowley brought an inside man for Luther, despite Martin’s own moral creed.

The story is fairly basic and by-the-numbers, but the performances elevates the material. There are a few scenes that really make me like the character of Luther, despite the obvious hatred that he may hold for himself. It might have been a touch too long but there were several decent moments that helped make this a strong addition to Idris Elba’s filmography.

3.5 stars