Review of Legend (2015) by Oliver C — 12 Sep 2015

Muddled, Messy but often quite Marvellous; "Legend" is an unorthodox take on the notorious lives of London's Kray twins. First off, this is one of the most tonally inconsistent films of the year by far. What starts off as nearly a piece by piece homage to Goodfellas suddenly turns into a Judd Apatow romantic comedy and then slap bang back into a quasi-heartfelt character study of grievance. This identity crisis of a film is entertaining to watch unravel however it's moral ambiguity and glamourising of the cockney gangster lifestyle I feel is quite shameful and sometimes disrespectful. The shiny look and aesthetic of the film looks misplaced and feels like it's the type of view of London from the perspective of someone who has never been to London but is an avid fan of Eastenders. To make matters worse the writing and Tab-A into Slot-B story telling leaves a lot to be desired especially seeing as though this project has come from the writer of classic 90's thriller "L.A. Confidential" (A favourite of mine!).

The positives on the other hand come from the film's jet black humour that unfortunately does slowly start to dissipate in regularity and bite during the 2nd and 3rd act. But on the surface level, Hardy's performance is worth the price of admission alone. Hardy stands tall and showcases a remarkable and memorable turn as the Krays delivering a sensitivity and compassion for the loathsome individuals that they were in real life. Also, it is funny to hear when Hardy's voice for Ronnie sometimes dips into Bane from TDKR. Lastly, The choice of music is a nice selection of tunes from the time which had me tapping along all the way through and much preferred it to the non-anachronistic composed score. While the film wishes to be a mix of Goodfellas and Gangster No. 1, Legend I feel will fail to reach the parthenon of great classic gangster films but I do believe it may become a cult classic thanks to it's dominating lead and deadly sense of humour.