Legend

The second of the big screen retellings of the Kray storyline, following on from 1990's THE KRAYS which starred real-life brothers Martin and Gary Kemp as the terrible twosome. While I enjoyed LEGEND on a superficial level, I found it an oddly hollow viewing experience and not as good as the previous version. The problem lies with the direction, which is oddly inexperienced for a long-time director like Brian Helgeland.

The issues with LEGEND are entirely down to tone, and the tone just isn't right. The setting-up scenes are fine, the transition scenes are fine, and the film is well-shot throughout with an excellent eye for realism and a decent budget. What a shame, then, that all of the pivotal scenes are so oddly staged in a semi-humorous tone. It feels like Helgeland wanted to make the story a comedy, which is the last thing it could be.

This jokey approach to the material manifests itself in the violent moments, which are rather incredibly played for laughs whereas really the raw power of the incidents should have come out. It's present in Tom Hardy's dual role; the special effects are excellent (and have come a long way since Van Damme played twins in DOUBLE IMPACT) but Ronnie Kray is nothing more than a caricature here, a weirdo played for maximum relish by the off-beat actor.

LEGEND also messes up some of the source material, which is a little odd. I've read Reggie's autobiography so have some experience with the facts. For some reason this film plays down the pivotal relationship between the Krays and their mother; the latter only appears in a couple of scenes. In contrast, it bigs up the role Frances Shea played in the story, giving her way too much screen time at the expense of others. Thus at times LEGEND feels like a romance rather than the gangster epic it should be. It's certainly not a bad film, but is it something I'd watch again? Not really - I'd prefer going back to THE KRAYS.

I was really looking forward to this one; the trailers were great and, whilst I'm not one of those who glamourise the Krays (they loved their mums, would do anything for you blah blah blah), I do find it bizarrely fascinating how the Krays/Richardsons have passed into London folklore. Alas, it's a bit of a let down. Hardy throws himself into both roles, by turns amusing and scary as Ronnie and compelling as a Reggie trying to build an empire while struggling to keep his brother in check. But he is let down by a clunky structure, it takes a while to get going and subplots and characters are introduced and then discarded on a whim, an awful Frances Kray voice-over, and an uneven script which can't quite decide if it wants to be an American style gangster flick or tread the same path as The Long Good Friday, Get Carter et al. And who let Duffy and her nails down a blackboard voice back in? I really hoped we'd seen the last of her after that crap Diet Coke ad. The club scenes aren't quite working guys. I know, let's get Duffy, stuck a wig on her and she can caterwaul her way through some 60s classics. High five!!!

(Flash Review)

Based on a true story, the twin Kray Brothers (BOTH played by excellently played by Tom Hardy) are hard as nails gangsters who start buying up prime London clubs and casinos by intimidation and force. Their influence stretches into holding some politicians and police under their thumb as their power increases. How far can their lawless activity last? The film is narrated by Reggie's girlfriend as she hopelessly attempts to keep him away from gangster activity. The other brother Ron is mentally unstable and adds a plethora of additional challenges to everyone's world. There are some brutal violent moments (especially a raw and gruesome stabbing), the acting is great and the production and cinematography are stellar.

Tom Hardy gives an all time great performance, double acting as both the notorious Kray twins. The story is also quite comedic, clever and full of some great thrilling scenes. One of the great things about this film is you know what you're going to get, and it delivers, then some. It's bloody on top of witty, charming and fun. Legend serves up one of the great films of the year, whilst also being quite modest in its approach.

With Tom Hardy's already established terrific acting skills, Legend becomes something more then a typical gangster crime film. It feels invested into making the viewer content with its two hour runtime, whilst always respecting. The award for best actor goes to… Tom Hardy, for sure.

I have to confess that I could never finish or even forced myself to watch any British gangster films until this "Legend". At first, I thought I just might give it a try and predicted that as usual, I'd quit within 5 or 10 minutes, because 99.9% out of 100, the British gangster movies sucked. The reason why I decided to give it a try was because of Tom Hardy, since any film he played turned out to be very good. And this film, Lordy, Lordy, he was just amazing, playing two completely different persons and characters as twin brothers. This kind of performance is simply at genius level, so good that I simply couldn't find word to describe or praise him. I think Tom Hardy is not only one of the best actors in 21st Century, he IS the BEST! What a great gift to movie history and civilization. There's nothing I could express more.