Review of Legend (2015) by Joetaeb D — 13 Dec 2015

I drove a half an hour just to see this movie. Tom Hardy is one of my favorite actors and seeing him play two gangsters in the same film? Yeah count me in. The problem is the film around Hardy isn't all that interesting. There are moments of greatness but it's lengthy runtime (or at least it felt long), unoriginal direction, and a messy script can only take Hardy's great performance so far.

The movie does however deliver on what the marketing promised, two great Tom Hardy performances. Not only is he unrecognizable as Ronnie Kray, but the scenes with both brothers on screen are seamless. Those are by far the highlight of the film. The strange but real relationship between these brothers parading through London during the 1960's as gangsters should have made for a great film. Moments come and go where you can see shades of the great gangster pictures, but the film doesn't come together as well as it should have.

However, a definitive highlight from the acting side besides Hardy is Emily Browning. I thought she was exceptional as Reggie's wife. Some also may have an issue with Hardy's other performance as Ronnie, which can be understood as some of his actions turn out to be more cartoon-ish than realistic, but when the two are on screen together, it's magic. Overall, the film is worth the price of admission if you're a Tom Hardy fan, but don't expect much in terms of a fluid and functionally directed picture.

+Hardy.

+Great individual scenes.

+Browning.

-Sloppy script.

-The story doesn't pop.

6.1/10.