Tag Archives: Idris Elba

Film Reviews

Film Review: Luther – The Fallen Sun (2023)

STORY

Detective John Luther is unable to trace the whereabouts of a young hostage Callum Aldrich when he is jailed for his illegal acts as a police officer. Years later, Callum and other hostages are brutally murdered and the serial killer teases Luther for fun.

INTRODUCTION

Luther was a critically acclaimed detective series by BBC that concluded in 2019 after five seasons. The show was widely praised for its crime screenwriting, direction, and performances of Idris Elba as detective John Luther and Ruth Wilson as Alice Morgan.

REVIEW

It is a difficult task to continue the story of a television series into a film due to limitations in the screen length. There is also a certainty that the development of the existing characters and their arcs from the television series will suffocate in the film when connected to the main plotline. Alas, this is precisely what happened with ‘Luther: The Fallen Sun‘.

The usual dynamics of Luther’s storytelling looks visibly compromised. The biggest spine-breaker is the story that is rotten, stereotypical, and carries plenty of repeated content. The whole plotline is extremely predictable. Luther tries his sources to help him break the jail and of course, it is certain to happen. The new officer DCI Odette, played by very talented Cynthia Erivo, replaces Luther and takes him completely wrong but then trusts him, and then fights together, is a whole new level of an overbaked script of a super action film.

Luther television series was known for impressive suspense. Regrettably, there is no element of suspense about who the antagonist is. We the audience are exposed in the beginning that Andy Serkis is a serial killer. And absolutely gutted about his hair.

Maybe it makes sense but for me, it is strange that the serial killer planned for the victims to commit suicides from the top of various buildings but no surveillance monitored more than one hostage scene from the top.

I am also confused about Luther’s fate in the final 15 minutes. After the job is done, Luther gets handcuffed but ends up in a safe house. Which means Luther does not go to jail. Is that so? He broke the jail. He was shamed for his crimes as an officer. Is he pardoned by the law or what? We observed angry media backlash at the beginning in favor of his arrest.

CLOSING REMARKS

‘Luther: The Fallen Sun’ is easily the weakest Luther project so far. Yes, Idris Elba as Luther never disappoints but the rest. Looking at the development in the final scene, Luther’s sequel surely is considered. And I hope that part outdo this because this is a disappointing film overall.

RATINGS: 3/10

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Film Reviews

Film Review: Beast (2022)

STORY

Dr. Nate Daniels is a father of two daughters and is recently widowed. The eldest daughter reasons him for her death as she developed cancer immediately after her parent’s separation.

In order to emotionally reconnect with his daughters, Dr. Nate Daniels takes them on vacation to Africa where their mother grew up. Their family friend and wildlife biologist, Martin Battles, assists them in this wildlife journey.

But one shocking day, an injured lion that survived being the victim of the poachers, attacks them and thus begins their attempt at survival of a lifetime.

REVIEW

Beast is an action-thriller that was shot in South Africa and completed in ten weeks. The film’s biggest attraction is British superstar Idris Elba who plays Dr. Nate Daniels.

For the audience who are interested in watching a film based on wildlife survival, fiction or non-fiction, they basically are cognizant of the expectations from the screenwriting. If any of us watch such a film where the main characters are stuck in a compromised situation, we know that they will survive and overcome the unthinkable.

So where does the film stands in captivating the interest of the audience? I will give my fair share of developing zeal to invest my 90 minutes in a film that had Idris Elba fighting a lion.

PLUSES

The writing of this film in the first half convincingly develops the plot. And when the horror lodges to their heavy shock, the writing becomes exuberant.

The audience will build adrenaline when the family starts believing that something is terribly wrong. The element of intensity in this film is outstanding.

A flash of technical brilliance is a must to give a thrill to the audience. Beast offers to its audience excellent sound, an impactful music score by Steven Price, and an incredible design of dead bodies and injuries, followed by superb physical and especially facial performances by all four main characters, particularly the daughters. All these pluses are blended in some fabulous one-shot scenes, a quality of presentation that I wasn’t really expecting.

MINUSES

I feel the whole aesthetics of Beast from such an astounding first half loses that brink of establishing an equally promising continuity.

The pace of the film drops, the screenwriting of survival yet again enters into that Jurassic Park territory, things become obvious, and no further surprises are left to endure.

And some portions of the writing raise question marks throughout the film. How come the lion does not attack Martin Battles before running toward the family? Where were the alligators at night when Dr. Nate Daniels walks in the pond? Seriously, that is the time when the gators are active or perhaps hyperactive. Dr. Nate Daniels catching a snake looked pretty off, and so was the lion surviving the car explosion.

CLOSING REMARKS

Where the pluses level on minuses, here I am observing a bigger concern throughout the film – the case of an injured lion. The pride is obviously hurt but more than that, the lion escaped being hunted by the poachers.

From that arc, from that angle, the lion was actually trying to survive by killing not even humans but animals too. Because the lion lost faith in everything when it was attacked. The lion senses every single nature installed on earth as its enemy and the only way to survive is by killing the others so that the lion lives without any chance of threat.

It is a tragic case for an animal. Despite being the villain of the story, the lion wasn’t really a villain. The humans started this. Had the film not dramatized that opening sequence, the lion would have always been understood as evil.

RATINGS: 7/10

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Film Reviews

Film Review: Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

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Marvel readers! when you plan to watch a superhero film like Thor Ragnarok, I advice to forget what is written in the comics and just try to watch and imagine if this is not about Ragnarok to hit Asgard but a friend playing to you a parody video on YouTube to hit your brain like when you have to watch Meet The Spartans after 300.

Thor: Ragnarok is a true competitor to Guardians Of The Galaxy in Marvel Cinematic Universe in the race of colorful circus entertainment, supported by the films of Doctor Strange and Ant-Man.

And kindly do not expect any source material from Planet Hulk. It is just the costume in the combat reminding you about the comic event. I do not remember if any other element has been adapted. Perhaps the character of Korg who debuted in the storyline. And Hulk is speaking like a toddler, like Solomon Grundy, or like Eater Island Head asking for gum-gum from a new dum-dum. I really don’t know why but Hulk sounds stupid.

Grandmaster, ruler of Sakaar, one of the Elders of the Universe, the brother of Collector, one of the long-standing villains in Marvel, is ehm funny. Loki, who appeared as a threat to Asgard and almost an unbeatable villain to the assembled Avengers in the first Avengers film, is a proper clown.

Ever seen Sir Anthony Hopkins funny? No? Now you can watch him as Odin for a short scene. The news was that Odin was supposed to be shown a crazy hobo wandering on the streets of New York after what happened in Thor: The Dark World but the director found the continuity of the role very tragic and then he recreated the character to be funny until he is moved to Norway to honor the character’s origin as the king of Asgard.

In my observation, the only two characters who were not the part of this comical roller-coaster were Hela and Heimdall. And these two were actually the most impressive roles with better performances by Cate Blanchett and Idris Elba. I like the continuity of Heimdall’s heroics in this film which is where the director deserves to be praised. By the way, Hela in comics is Loki’s child whereas, in the film, she is Odin’s daughter and Thor’s older sister, oh well.

Two of The Warriors Three are in the film for *thinking* 10 seconds? The other for hardly 5 minutes. Doctor Strange has a brief ‘funny’ cameo in the storyline. Yeah, he is also funny for a funny reason. Everyone is funny in the film, everything is funny in the film. Hulk/Thor fight is funny. The opening sequence of Thor-Surtur is funny. Yeah, Surtur also. Korg is funny (but I like this character). End-credit is funny. The director Taika Waititi is funny. Hiring this guy for the film is funny. Marvel Cinematic Universe is funny. The way I am now writing this review is also funny but this is exactly how the film is presented to you.

I hear that Taika Waititi is ‘offered’ to make a Star Wars film. May the audience have the courage to watch that film then.

RATINGS: 2/10