RichardBJ-1
Joined Nov 2007
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Reviews32
RichardBJ-1's rating
Luther: The Fallen Sun (2023)
So, Luther finally made it to the big screen, with Idris Elba back as everyone's favorite rule-breaking detective. Is it worth your time? Well, that's complicated...
The Good Stuff: Let's start with what works: Idris Elba is still absolutely fantastic as Luther. He just owns this role, and honestly, watching him prowl around London in that signature style never gets old. The movie looks pretty slick too - they've clearly spent some decent money on it, and it shows. The whole thing moves along at a good clip, and nobody in the cast is dropping the ball acting-wise.
Where It All Goes Wrong: Here's the thing though - the bad guy is a massive letdown. In a good crime drama, villains are always fascinating weirdos with actual backstories and motives that made sense (in their own twisted way). Here? We've got a straight-up psycho who's just evil because... well, just because. No trauma, no religious mania, no revenge mission - nothing. They don't even try to explain why this person is torturing and killing hundreds of people. It's like they forgot to write that part of the script.
And don't even get me started on how bonkers some of the plot gets. There's this scene in Norway that's just ridiculous - our heroes' car crashes through some ice fields, and somehow they float up to this tiny hole in the ice where - get this - they just happen to bump into a bunch of dead bodies from the killer's previous victims. I mean, what are the odds? It's like all these corpses decided to have an underwater party in that exact spot. Oh, and then a helicopter arrive to the rescue - within seconds- which just happens to have rescue divers on board. Come on!
The whole "whodunnit" idea is another missed opportunity. They show us who it is right at the start, so there's zero mystery. Sure, cat-and-mouse games can be fun, but without understanding why the killer's doing any of this, it's hard to get invested in the chase.
The Verdict: "Luther: The Fallen Sun" feels like it's having an identity crisis - it can't decide if it wants to be a gritty crime drama or a far-fetched cartoon. Elba's doing his best (and he's great), but even he can't quite save this one from itself. The bones of a good movie are here, but they needed to dial back the crazy and give us a villain with actual motivation, and fewer "coinicidences."
I'd give it a 5.5/10. If you're a die-hard Luther fan, you'll probably want to watch it anyway, but keep your expectations in check. It's like a lovely looking vegan fairy cake I had recently - it looked the part, but something's definitely missing.
So, Luther finally made it to the big screen, with Idris Elba back as everyone's favorite rule-breaking detective. Is it worth your time? Well, that's complicated...
The Good Stuff: Let's start with what works: Idris Elba is still absolutely fantastic as Luther. He just owns this role, and honestly, watching him prowl around London in that signature style never gets old. The movie looks pretty slick too - they've clearly spent some decent money on it, and it shows. The whole thing moves along at a good clip, and nobody in the cast is dropping the ball acting-wise.
Where It All Goes Wrong: Here's the thing though - the bad guy is a massive letdown. In a good crime drama, villains are always fascinating weirdos with actual backstories and motives that made sense (in their own twisted way). Here? We've got a straight-up psycho who's just evil because... well, just because. No trauma, no religious mania, no revenge mission - nothing. They don't even try to explain why this person is torturing and killing hundreds of people. It's like they forgot to write that part of the script.
And don't even get me started on how bonkers some of the plot gets. There's this scene in Norway that's just ridiculous - our heroes' car crashes through some ice fields, and somehow they float up to this tiny hole in the ice where - get this - they just happen to bump into a bunch of dead bodies from the killer's previous victims. I mean, what are the odds? It's like all these corpses decided to have an underwater party in that exact spot. Oh, and then a helicopter arrive to the rescue - within seconds- which just happens to have rescue divers on board. Come on!
The whole "whodunnit" idea is another missed opportunity. They show us who it is right at the start, so there's zero mystery. Sure, cat-and-mouse games can be fun, but without understanding why the killer's doing any of this, it's hard to get invested in the chase.
The Verdict: "Luther: The Fallen Sun" feels like it's having an identity crisis - it can't decide if it wants to be a gritty crime drama or a far-fetched cartoon. Elba's doing his best (and he's great), but even he can't quite save this one from itself. The bones of a good movie are here, but they needed to dial back the crazy and give us a villain with actual motivation, and fewer "coinicidences."
I'd give it a 5.5/10. If you're a die-hard Luther fan, you'll probably want to watch it anyway, but keep your expectations in check. It's like a lovely looking vegan fairy cake I had recently - it looked the part, but something's definitely missing.
Metropolis (2023 Synthwave Edition)
So this 2023 version is basically the original with a new lick of paint - fresh soundtrack and some gorgeous coloring work, plus some fancy effects on the intertitles (yep, still a silent film). Since it's the same plot, actors and old-school effects just with modern polish, you really need to review two things here. And warning - the movie seems pretty long!
The original: Absolute classic, might just be the granddaddy of all sci-fi movies? Sure, it starts like it's gonna be all clichés, but stick with it - what a ride! Actually gets pretty chilling in places and keeps you on edge, even with all the 1927 limitations.
Now this new version - yeah, it's probably doomed review-wise because the purists are gonna hate on it. And let's face it, it's pretty niche - how many people are gonna invest the time to watch and review a synthwave silent movie? But for me? ...bu I loved what they did with it. The colors absolutely pop out when you're sitting in a dark room, and since I'm already into this kind of electronica, the soundtrack was right up my street! Bottom line - I actually preferred this to the original!
So this 2023 version is basically the original with a new lick of paint - fresh soundtrack and some gorgeous coloring work, plus some fancy effects on the intertitles (yep, still a silent film). Since it's the same plot, actors and old-school effects just with modern polish, you really need to review two things here. And warning - the movie seems pretty long!
The original: Absolute classic, might just be the granddaddy of all sci-fi movies? Sure, it starts like it's gonna be all clichés, but stick with it - what a ride! Actually gets pretty chilling in places and keeps you on edge, even with all the 1927 limitations.
Now this new version - yeah, it's probably doomed review-wise because the purists are gonna hate on it. And let's face it, it's pretty niche - how many people are gonna invest the time to watch and review a synthwave silent movie? But for me? ...bu I loved what they did with it. The colors absolutely pop out when you're sitting in a dark room, and since I'm already into this kind of electronica, the soundtrack was right up my street! Bottom line - I actually preferred this to the original!
I gave 2/10. Don't know really why I gave it so much.... Just a horrid violent video nasty. People chopped up, kids murdered, exploding mobile phones.... Totally not the Gerard B. We've come to expect. I'm just astonished it has such a high rating I can only assume there is a type of person that likes to watch this type of gore and congrats, there are buckets full for you. , I gave 2/10. Don't know really why I gave it so much.... Just a horrid violent video nasty. People chopped up, kids murdered, exploding mobile phones.... Totally not the Gerard B. We've come to expect. I'm just astonished it has such a high rating I can only assume there is a type of person that likes to watch this type of gore and congrats, there are buckets full for you. ,