Luther The Fallen Sun review: Idris Elba shines in this ultra-violent thriller

In a meta scene roughly halfway through Luther: The Fallen Sun, Idris Elba is offered a glass of martini, and he refuses pointedly —preferring, instead, a glass of water. If one were still unsure as to whether Elba wants to be the next James Bond... that should put an end to all that clamour. And a good thing, too, for while I like Bond and loved Daniel Craig's work in the last five movies, the role takes its toll on the actor. And we need an actor like Elba for more varied and more interesting roles. Like Luther.

I have fallen in love with and out of the original TV series more times than I care to count. It was the actor himself (and occasionally Ruth Wilson as Luther's overarching nemesis Alice Morgan) whose charisma and undeniable intensity kept me watching even when the show devolved into utter shlock.

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Luther: The Fallen Sun, I am happy to say, is not for the most part shlock.

Penned by the series creator Neil Cross and directed by Jamie Payne, who also directed the entirety of the fifth season, the film has Luther's crimes and excesses on duty (and tendency to play fast and loose with the law) finally catching up with him and he goes behind bars. And the person responsible for his downfall is Andy Serkis' psychopathic tech billionaire (I can almost hear Elon Musk gnashing his teeth — the guy has earlier said that he despises how Hollywood portrays billionaires) David Robey, who moonlights as a serial killer.

Once he spots Luther investigating one of his murders, he decides to get him out of the picture. But it's Luther in a Luther movie. The guy is a force of nature. Of course, he gets out and goes on a quest to get Serkis

Now, Robey is a particularly nasty piece of work. Even other serial killers might be horrified by his actions. Having felt powerless for most of his life, he became rich thanks to his tech brilliance. And now he has this need to feel a sense of power and control over his victims. He has created a system in place in which he and his followers witness people being tortured and killed. He is something of a cad (as the Brits would say), all right.

And Luther, haunted by a failed promise he made to one of Robey's many victims' mother, wants to set things right.

Luther: The Fallen Sun is, for all intents and purposes a feature-length season of the show. Whether that is a good thing or not is quite subjective. Speaking for myself, watching Elba once again don that tweed coat and red tie like a superhero costume and brooding on a rooftop with skyscrapers in the background like Batman — it was almost restorative to my cold.

There is action, there are thrills there are same-old outbursts from Luther — for better or worse, he is the same man though slightly mellow — and there is a lot of violence. Being a film with a bigger budget than a typical TV production means that there is a lot more spectacle, albeit a grisly kind of spectacle. People by turns fall to their deaths in Piccadilly Circus, Robey, the sicko that he is, likes to record his victims' dying screams, deriving a twisted sort of pleasure from them later.

There are inconsistencies and plot contrivances, and the story is a touch traditional, without a lot of surprises and moments of oomph. But Luther: The Fallen Sun is still a well-put-together film featuring Elba once again giving a magnetic performance.

Overall, Luther: The Fallen Sun is a worthy addition to the Luther universe, I thought, and a testament to the enduring appeal of Elba's iconic character. While it may not break any new ground, it delivers exactly what fans of the show have come to expect from this franchise: a thrilling, violent, and emotionally resonant crime drama. And one does not need to watch the series to enjoy the film, and it is its own thing.

And please, please please: keep giving Idris Elba action films to lead.

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