Review of Legend (2015) by Odjento — 22 Nov 2015

Tom Hardy is an absolute powerhouse in Legend and definitely shows an Oscar worthy role. But the film is not without its flaws.

The film for the most part more just seems like a continuous amalgamation of instances for Hardy to show off his chops and to focus on him and him only rather than giving an insight into the actual Kray twins. The film doesn’t fully go into any real depth about what they were doing around that time and how they got away with so much, it is more just little mentions here and there as to what is happening and then back to Hardy being a badass in two roles at once. The film felt more like a chronicle of Tom Hardy rather than Kray twins.

Does this make the film bad though? NOT AT ALL. The film is fantastic to watch and Tom Hardy alone (and again) makes the viewing captivating, showing he is one of the greatest actors around right now. The realisation that he has chemistry with himself on screen where other actors in other films struggle to have any chemistry at all is truly jaw dropping. You can almost believe you are watching two different actors.

Hardy plays Reggie with such charisma and charm that you can’t help but be encapsulated by him as a person and watch him unfold on screen whereas Hardy playing Ronald is a whole other level. Volatile and explosive, with no clue of what is going on and an outrageous sense of unintentional humour you can’t help but love (and fear) Ronald.

And that is the other thing that makes Legend great. The dark humour is so lovingly layered throughout the film that you find yourself laughing non-stop at some scenes. This, added in with some great symbolism, great dialogue and superb direction (with some brilliant tracking shots) make for a brilliant Hardy piece.

So all in all, Legend shows an exceptional Tom Hardy at his best, but doesn’t offer enough material on The Krays as it should. Well worth the watch.

6.