Review of Legend (1985) by Ben L — 04 Sep 2017

It?s hard for me to put my finger on why Legend felt so bland to me. It has some elements I should love, like awesome lead actors, a fun fantasy story, a romantic subplot, great makeup effects, and more. However, while it was certainly a fine way to pass the time, it did nothing to impress me. The characters don't have much personality, which is big problem. Part of that stems from the fact that it feels like they are thrust into the story so fast, without establishing them. Then new people/creatures are thrown into the mix quickly without much explanation of who they are or why they are getting involved.

It wasn?t until the climax that I finally was getting hooked into the story of Legend. Adding in Tim Curry as the villain doesn?t hurt that part of the film at all. He elevates some of the weaker moments in this film simply with his big performance, and gives me someone to root against even if the protagonists struggle to earn my affection. I don?t really blame Tom Cruise and Mia Sara for how I felt about them in this film, because their dialogue was bad and often their behavior was illogical. I wanted to love Legend because it?s a style of film I typically embrace wholeheartedly, but I simply found it lacking and largely forgettable. But I?m willing to bet if 9-year-old me had seen this movie instead of Labyrinth my opinion would be a lot different.