He has a flashy Hollywood career and has been tipped for years as the potential first black James Bond. You would almost forget that the British actor Idris Elba (50) only broke through with his portrayal of (John) Luther in the police series of the same name. After thirteen years there is the film version: ‘Luther: The Fallen Sun’.
In the movie, London is terrorized by a serial killer while Detective John Luther is in prison for not working within the lines. Behind bars, he is haunted by the thought that he has failed to catch a cyber psychopath, a man who continues to taunt and tease him. Because there is a link with the series of murders in the British capital, Luther decides to escape and still get the job done.
Worried look
“We are leaving the gritty streets of London. And that’s great. It feels like we are now living a different life from the Luther experience,” the actor previously said. In the released photos of the film, which was quite critically received by critics, we see the equally ambitious and troubled policeman, among other things, with a worried look in a snowy landscape. A secret base appears to be located high in the mountains of Norway, where the hero walks around in his familiar half-length woolen coat, with his blue shirt and red tie underneath.
Cyber criminal
The cast includes new names in addition to familiar faces from the series. As Oscar winner Cynthia Erivo (known for The Outsiders ) who plays a detective who doesn’t like Luther and his way of working. The villain in this story, the life-threatening cybercriminal, is Andy Serkis ( Lord of the Rings / Planet of the Apes ). He wants the world to see him “as a nightmare come true.” Psychopath Alice Morgan, with whom Luther had an on-off relationship in the series, is missing The Fallen Sun. Although Elba recently suggested that this character will experience a resurrection one day.
Rumors have been circulating since 2018 about a film version of the series that saw the light of day in 2010. At the time, the BBC production about John Luther, who works for the Serial Crime Unit of the London Metropolitan Police, had already run for five seasons. Elba won a Golden Globe in 2012 for this role.
At the premiere last week, the actor expressed his wish that The Fallen Sun will form the first of a series of Luther films. “It was always a dream. We started the show. There was one season, then a second. ‘Oh it’s appreciated’ we thought, so a third series followed, etc. And when the story really took hold with the audience, the idea came to make it into a film.”
Joke
One scene in the film is seen as a quip to the endless suggestion that Idris Elba will succeed Bond interpreter Daniel Craig. Luther turns down a Martini, James Bond’s favorite drink. Screenwriter Neil Cross called that “a raised middle finger and a nod” to 007 in an interview.
Elba, who himself has repeatedly stated that he is too old to play the legendary secret agent, recently underlined in a British magazine that the subtle reference to Bond in the Luther film should not be taken as an open audition for the role of this gentleman spy .
On demand, Netflix