Luther: The Fallen Sun

For fans of the BBC series, Luther (2010-2019), there is now a movie, “Luther: The Fallen Sun”, which continues the crime-solving by a London cop–John Luther (the magnetic Idris Elba) who is more troubled and morally conflicted than anyone else on the police force. Needless to say, he is also a genius in comprehending the most heinous of psychopaths in spite of his aversion to rules and legal procedures.

The movie opens where Season Five of the Netflix series left off with Luther behind bars for failing to indict suspected murders he was investigating, one of whom was a lover, Alice Morgan (the delightfully devious Ruth Wilson).

Now the new police chief, DCI Odette Raine (Cynthia Erivo in a rapidly transforming range of character arcs), reluctantly calls upon Luther to investigate an unimaginably sadistic serial killer–David Robey (Andy Serkis best known for playing Golum in “Lord of the Rings”). Odette Raine will eventually see through the wrongful characterization of Luther’s reputation and need to make a truly impossible choice for the sake of her young daughter.

Robey is a wealthy technical wizard who hacks webcams, cell phones, and other devices to surveil, record, and then blackmail those who have secrets they will do anything to keep private. This deranged menace to society kills for sport and finds others online with a similar bloodlust. These others are equally “entertained” by his unhinged penchant for torture and murder. Robey kidnaps people, seemingly innocent ones too, and compels their loved ones to watch his victims’ ignominious end.

Another highly compulsive police procedural for those of us who are pushovers for tormented heroes with twisted crimes to solve! There are implausible scenes with plot holes, but anything with Idris Elba can’t be too unworthy to watch IMHO.

Availability: Netflix streaming