Review of Legend (1985) by Kai82 — 24 Dec 2021

I liked this movie as child but over the years I came to the conclusion that it was noting special or that great. On the other hand it is not truly bad and was well made. It is in the realm of neither being good or bad.

The story follows the Lord of Darkness who wants to cast the world into eternal night (O.K. that sounds pretty generic if I think about it). For this he has to rely on his henchman as he is banished from light and cant take much action outside the night.

A key to this goal are Unicorns and the two humans Jack and princess Lili who get involved into this. These will decide the fate of the realm. O.K I must admit I sounds even more generic here on paper in such a way that I cant or wont argue against it.

To be fair the plot is a bit basic and feels short. If this was a D&D adventure it would be over in the third session with the big bad beaten to give perspective. However the visuals are great and they put care into the movie.

The characters are fine for me with Tom Cruise as Jack and Mia Sara as princess Lili for the main actors. Tim Curry however is truly remarkable as Lord of darkness. The costumes and make up together with his acting skill impressed me as child and still as adult.

Other than those I will praise Alice Playten as Blix and David Bennent as Gump. The cast works well and makes the movie entertaining. I must praise the sets, costumes and make ups. It looks and feels awesome.

In this regard I would give at least a 9/10 especially given the time and budget. They succed in creating the atmosphere. The rest is history. It was a failure at the box office and did not mange to gain a loyal fan base.

Today it is even rare on TV. Overall I think this is a poster-child for the “Average is worse than bad” statement which some people made. Because it is neither good or bad enough to be remembered it is forgotten.

There are far worse movies out there that are remembered or enjoy as “So bad it is good (entertaining)” is a thing.