I'm from the "never seen the series" camp. Clearly, I'm familiar with its existence and with Idris Elba in the role of the titular character; however, I'm not familiar with any of the backstory, so when Luther is incarcerated, I'm not really sure on what grounds he's being detained.
Without giving anything away, my takeaway from this film is that this detective, sort of, lives in a Nolan-Batman/Craig-Bond kind of world. The use of technology to make the film/its use within the film is the crutch on which it relies, as so many films do nowadays.
Andy Serkis portrays the nasty villain, who is reminiscent of Silva from Skyfall, a mild Heath Ledger Joker and some other forgettable Craig Bond baddie. Serkis' character is a sadist who exploits and preys on the emotions of vulnerable people. DCI Luther, of course, is any victim's only hope. Elba has an irrefutable coolness, but he might be a little too cool, which affects the character's dynamism a bit, in my eyes.
I respect the idea, but between the suspension of disbelief and cliches, there's a mishmash of uniqueness and banality; mostly the latter. So, to sum it up, it's an alright time passer, but the cinematic scale of the villain's plan and executions (no pun intended) take you from a detective story to modern-Bond campiness, which dilutes something that I hear is of really good quality -the series.
Without giving anything away, my takeaway from this film is that this detective, sort of, lives in a Nolan-Batman/Craig-Bond kind of world. The use of technology to make the film/its use within the film is the crutch on which it relies, as so many films do nowadays.
Andy Serkis portrays the nasty villain, who is reminiscent of Silva from Skyfall, a mild Heath Ledger Joker and some other forgettable Craig Bond baddie. Serkis' character is a sadist who exploits and preys on the emotions of vulnerable people. DCI Luther, of course, is any victim's only hope. Elba has an irrefutable coolness, but he might be a little too cool, which affects the character's dynamism a bit, in my eyes.
I respect the idea, but between the suspension of disbelief and cliches, there's a mishmash of uniqueness and banality; mostly the latter. So, to sum it up, it's an alright time passer, but the cinematic scale of the villain's plan and executions (no pun intended) take you from a detective story to modern-Bond campiness, which dilutes something that I hear is of really good quality -the series.
