Film Review

Luther: The Fallen Sun (2023) • Netflix

Brilliant but disgraced detective John Luther breaks out of prison to hunt down a sadistic serial killer who’s terrorising London.

Debuting in 2010 on the BBC, Luther was atypical of British crime dramas. There had been similarly bleak genre entries, from Prime Suspect (1991–2006) to Cracker (1993–2006), but Luther was uniquely less realistic as a police procedural and more informed by the anything-goes nature of comic-books and horror movies. It also didn’t hurt that its eponymous hero, DCI John Luther (Idris Elba), was someone of questionable morals during a period when anti-heroes were incredibly popular, and this one was being played by a charismatic actor about to breakout beyond his US success in The Wire (2002–08).

Over the ensuing nine years, Luther sporadically produced five series of various lengths, totalling 20 mostly well-regarded episodes. It was clearly a passion project for Elba himself, who’s also a producer, even if his Hollywood career often meant long delays to him returning to the role. A movie was often mooted because the series felt…