​Luther: The Sun Has Fallen, a film starring Idris Elba as a rebel detective who pursues a serial killer, is the latest “blockbuster” that Netflix offers to users of the streaming platform. But this project is perhaps a bit ambitious.

The first thing you need to know The sun has setwhich arrived on Netflix on Friday, is that it is essentially a sequel to the detective series Luther which ran on the BBC for 9 years, with 5 critically acclaimed seasons, although none lasted more than 6 episodes.

Perhaps that’s why it hasn’t created the same worldwide buzz as other recent British series such as Peaky Blinders, Bridgerton or Crown.

Please, it is undeniable that the role of Detective John Luther has earned Idris Elba several film industry awards, including the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television, and is largely the reason why speculation has arisen about years that he could become the new James Bond, the first black man.

Returning to film, Netflix announced in September 2021 that it had reached an agreement with the BBC to bring John Luther to the big screen in a co-production with the British Broadcasting Corporation. Cynthia Erivo, one of the hottest British actresses of recent years, and Andy Serkis, who I don’t think needs any introduction after playing Gollum in the films, were also on board lord of the rings and the hobbit.

Netflix has provided all the ingredients for a blockbuster

Also, to make sure they didn’t screw things up, Netflix brought in Neil Cross, creator of the TV series, to work on the movie Luther, and Jamie Payne, director of the final season. Cross wrote the screenplay for The sun has setand Payne took the director’s chair.

Speaking about working with Netflix, Cross said in an interview with The Telegraph in February that “what we’ve been able to do is after we’ve made each episode Luther with comically small budgets, it was about having a wider canvas and a bigger budget to tell the stories we always wanted to tell.”

So a film based on an already successful series, talented actors, cooperation with the creators of the original series, a large budget – in theory, all the components of success are marked.

A little parenthesis: this bigger budget brought John Luther for the first time from London and the surrounding area, where all the episodes of the series were filmed. The last part of the film was shot in Iceland, where there is also one of the most spectacular scenes The sun has set.

PHOTO: Netflix / Backgrid UK / Profimedia Images

Story from the movie “Luther: Fallen Sun”

Next comes the part that contains small “spoilers”, so if you haven’t seen the movie and want to watch it without knowing much about the story, it’s time to close the article.

As for the story, its prerequisites are, of course, the biggest advantage. We have another serial killer movie coming, but don’t roll your eyes just yet. I know, it seems like it’s the new hot topic in Hollywood after the huge success it’s been enjoying Dahmer – Monster: The Story of Jeffrey Dahmerthe series that captivated America and beyond last fall.

I think I know of at least 5 serial killer movies or TV shows that were announced after that Dahmer set new viewing records on Netflix. It can become tiresome, you want to look at something else, but Luther: The sun has fallen I’d say it’s a really fresh take on the genre.

This time we have a serial killer who uses people’s online activities to hunt down his victims. He’s also a multi-millionaire, so he can afford a team of IT specialists to help him identify his most vulnerable targets.

Essentially, the Netflix movie asks an interesting question: How ashamed would you be of the things you do online, and to what lengths would you go to keep those things away from the public, if someone had their hands on your browser history? , financial transactions and hacked your webcam to spy on you? Luther: The sun has fallen it’s really good here.

And this is largely due to the fact that Andy Serkis, who plays the millionaire psychopath, gives us a first-rate performance.

PHOTO: LMK / Landmark / Profimedia Images

That leaves a lot to be desired in the new movie on Netflix

The main problem a Luther: The sun has fallen it’s that he’s trying to do too much in too little time. On the one hand, we have the main narrative thread with the pursuit of a serial killer, where the producers go down the path of a genre thriller. Seven. but The sun has set it basically starts with the arrest of Luther, who then has to escape from prison to resume the persecution. Put on a tray and a little Alcatraz.

And the last part of the feature film looks directly inspired by the movies Hostel, although we were spared scenes with blood all over the walls and very graphically sawed off limbs or the like. In between all this, we have intermittent action scenes that sometimes even bring such films Mission impossible (maybe not the most inspiring comparison, but my palette of famous action movies is quite limited).

All of this takes place in a film that lasts just two hours and 10 minutes, including the end credits. At some point, it may even seem like something interesting. But in this case, they make the film uneven and somewhat rushed. You just don’t have enough time in about two hours to coordinate so many separate themes and genres in a coherent way that works.

Basically, things start here that leave much to be desired Luther: The sun has fallen. Even though we have the best cast, there are scenes where the actors seem to be acting with too much accent, which in Hollywood would be called “overacting”. The reason is obvious: they are trying to create drama without a prelude leading up to it. Because there is no time to create it along with all the other things that the producers wanted in the film.

Then, in some scenes, the characters very quickly switch from one attitude to the diametrically opposite one almost in the blink of an eye. There can be only one reason. Elsewhere, the rush to “tell the stories we’ve always wanted to tell,” as screenwriter Neil Cross put it, results in what feel like gaps in the story that haven’t had time to explain and why. That’s what happens.

At the end of Luther: The sun has fallen it’s like a bunch of everything. It will be exactly what some want, while others will think they could do better without the pickles. That’s not to say the film isn’t worth watching, but it’s a shame considering the much more potential it had.

As always, you can find more new information from the world of film and television, as well as other exciting news in this weekend’s Nerd Alert column:

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