The new version of the series "Luther" – by the British actor of African origin Idris Alba – indicates the disappearance of the boundaries between the film and the series in the drama, as he preferred that this part be a film that shortens 4 episodes of the series.
The original work from which he sculpted the film "Luther.. The Fall of the Sun" (Luther.. The Fallen Sun, directed by Jimmy Bean, is a 5-part series with a total of twenty episodes, which aired from 2019-2020.
The events of the film differ from the stories of the episodes of the series, but the character of "John Luther" with all its features, negative and positive qualities, and the nature of its preoccupations, is still present in the new version of the work.
The main perception behind the character of the protagonist in both the film and the series lies in the dubious call to accept the genius, violent and evil character of the police inspector, as he has a criminal mind and can penetrate the minds of criminals, and through the seed of goodness inside him succeeds in arresting them, and standing on the side of the law.
Within the series and the film, we also glimpse opposition to the idea put forward by people who realize that a troubled police inspector is more dangerous to society than the criminal himself, no matter how brilliant he is in detecting criminals.
The events of "Luther.. The fall of the sun" about police inspector John Luther (Idris Alba), who is being tried and imprisoned, while he had just tackled a mysterious crime that resulted in the disappearance of a teenager, and the inspector committed before his imprisonment to a promise to the young man's mother that her son would be brought to her or his killer arrested.
The imprisoned inspector receives an audio message via a radio wave containing the voice of the kidnapped young man in great pain, so he decides to escape from his prison in search of the killer, and follows the broadcast wave until he reaches the source of the message.
The new chief investigator, Odette Rehn (Cynthia Erivo), who was chosen as the imprisoned inspector, undertakes the same crime and rejects the former president's offer of cooperation, but accepts after planning to arrest him, as a fugitive from his prison, along with the murderer David Robbie (Andy Sirkis), who unfolds as a sadistic serial killer belonging to the dark web world and kills to entertain his online audience.
The criminal kidnaps the daughter of Chief Investigator Anya Ren (Lauren Agufo), who tries to get rid of the inspector to save her daughter, but she cannot go against her values, so she agrees with him to go and catch the criminal.
Suspense and logic
Idris Alba enjoys great acceptance, and many consider him the second "James Bond", especially since he refused to play the character of "James Bond", and the script of the film is full of a lot of excitement, anxiety and suspense, but enjoying it needs a lot of ignoring logic, as it is based on many coincidences that in turn led to poor construction.
The most obvious example is the film's very idea: how does a corrupt and violent investigator get to the position of chief investigator? Especially since he is of African descent, which means that he is always under surveillance, it is true that the killer has endless powers to monitor Internet users, but does this mean that he was able to exceed the ability of the police to monitor one of his top investigators?
The second model is the message delivered over the radio inside a cell in a maximum security prison, and far from the fact that radio and mobile phones are not allowed, it is likely that the intermediary was chosen mainly by the makers to find a way for the inspector to reach the location of the criminal, a great inability to come up with a less complicated and less likely way to be exposed to the authority.
The inspector himself is corrupt, violent and harmful like the killer, and presents arguments worth considering, especially in light of the logic of work that puts forward the idea of accepting the violent investigator versus his genius in arresting criminals, due to the great similarity between his mind and the minds of criminals in ways of thinking, which makes the work more confusing, and less able to answer ethical questions.
In addition to the excitement and anxiety at work, the design of the battles and the smoothness of movement were good and convincing, except for those abilities that the workmaker did not establish from the beginning: Inspector Luther's ability to withstand beatings from more than 20 criminal prisoners, and to walk away without noticeable injuries.
Piccadilly
The Great Pursuit takes place in Piccadilly Square in the heart of London, where the two extremes, the detective and the murderer, meet. Seconds before the criminal is arrested, the police and their weak boss come to spoil the scene, and we find ourselves in a violent chase between London's streets, alleys and secret places.
The director made great use of the available spaces in the field, but the use of a drone in filming was so stingy, that it almost did not exist, although the meaning could be supported by filming the two opponents from above, as if they were small points in the sea of diverse and immense existence.
There is a real vendetta between the two parties who are chasing each other, as the killer was able to reach documents that convicted "John Luther" and lost his job and freedom, which are completely convincing and sufficient reasons for the work industry, but the author refused only to link the investigator to his promise to the teenage mother, who received what was left of his body after cremation, and then the investigator informed her that the teenage son lived a secret life that led him to his miserable fate.
The film reveals the abstract truths in the end, which are not based on idealistic claims: John Luther is kidnapped and placed in a private place to recover from his many injuries, and then he meets an important police command to prepare for another adventure, which viewers hope will be more convincing.