Luther: The Fallen Sun  ★★½

BIG screen versions of television series don’t generally work.

It’s not the expansion in scale that’s the problem; more the writing.

By that I mean using the same writers who are more familiar with long-form story-telling and asking them to fit a a new set of bigger ideas into a shorter timeframe, basically 2-3 episodes.

The second problem is the introduction of any new characters without the ability to appropriately build them.

The isn’t to say it can’t be done for a two hour film – of course it can – but it requires a stronger combination of audio and visual storytelling.

These are the main problems with Luther: The Fallen Sun, the first feature film version of the excellent English crime series.

In trying to satisfy people new to the series and characters, the writers have produced a story that can basically stand on its own.

But, even though Luther goes to prison at one stage, there is no character development that we haven’t already seen through progression of the television series.

In case you haven’t seen the series, there is a recurring criminal who has a fascinating relationship with Luther.

But in this film, Andy Serkis has no chance to build his character who ends up being a serial killer parody.

In the film Luther is at odds with his superiors as usual. He is investigating the disappearance of a young man when, suddenly, every bending of the rules Luther has ever done is made public in the media and he is sent to prison.

We quickly learn that the person behind the kidnapping is a wealthy commodities trader named David Robey (Serkis) who is also revealed as a serial killer.

Rivet’s crimes gradually become more and more elaborate, including setting fire to one group of victims and throwing another group of tall buildings.

After being taunted by the killer, Luther enlists some criminal associates to break him out of prison in Oder to hunt down Robey.

There are certainly creepy moments and the final act has some good tension, but it all feels like the writers are trying a little too hard to adapt a great character and his journey to the new format.