Review of Legend (1985) by Andrea M — 18 Oct 2015

Ridley Scott doesn't often make a poor movie but sadly, Legend really fails to impress. Admittedly, it was one of the better of the crop of fantasy/fairy tale movies that popped up in the 1980s but it hasn't aged well.

Whilst the visuals still hold up well and for the time, were very impressive, the story is weak and confused. There's just too little going on and little sense of peril or threat. A shame as Tim Curry tries his best to bring some menace to the part of "Darkness" and really looks incredible in what was for the time, a groundbreaking make-up and prosthetic costume.

Tom Cruise makes an early appearance but it has to be said, shows none of the talent that he went on to develop, in fact, on the strength of his performance here, it is a wonder that he ever worked again.

The dialogue is difficult to follow as much is drowned out by background noise and many of the characters are poorly developed making Legend somewhat disengaging. There's just not enough substance and too many flaws to make it work.

Ridley Scott has made much better movies and Legend really gives little evidence of his skills.