You look at all the famous gangster movies and what is usually our protagonist’s undoing? If you guessed the women in their lives, congratulations…you’re on top of things. I mean let’s be honest with ourselves here. Her soft, plush looks could melt a man and there’s no denying why she ultimately controls Tom Hardy’s Reggie in this one. Emily is both radiant and innocent at the same time here. While I liked her in that role, she was very forgettable at the same time. I haven’t seen Emily since 2011’s Sucker Punch.
That’s where I would like to call your attention to Miss Emily Browning next. You’ll find out what I’m talking about here when you see this one, but underneath it all Legend is really a love story, a tale of brotherly love and a romance one too. Love can be that binding bridge, but it can also uncouple and be that physical barrier too. However, there is one theme most central and universal in Legend…L-O-V-E. It doesn’t disappoint you in the violence arena. In addition to its humor it also has charm, wit and the gangster violence we all know and love in post- Goodfellas pics (it’s not at that level though). So yeah I guess you can say Legend has a lot going for it. However, once again, Tom Hardy is what makes it all of this and more. That’s the hidden treasure, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow here in Legend, it’s a fun watch despite the deeply flawed characters onscreen.
He crafts these characters into three-dimensional beings that drag you down with them like you would expect from a gangster movie (the predictability factor in the genre…nothing new here), but unlike the typical mafia tale, you actually feel something for these characters even when they gone and did something batty bad. He literally embodies this film and gives it purpose, life and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but fun too. That’s what I want you to really focus on as I chip deeper into what makes Legend a worthwhile watch.Īlthough a British gangster film such as this is not ordinarily my cup of tea so to speak, make no mistake about it…this is THE TOM HARDY SHOW. Not to state the obvious here again, but the beauty of this film is that Tom Hardy portrays both of these dudes. So Legend focuses keenly on Reggie Kray as he seeks to control the psychotic tendencies of his twin, Ronald. Our film here though is a tad different as the character of Ronald Kray I guess you could say has some mental problems. Such is the very predictable life a gangster. It has that same notorious formula where the filmmakers take you on a ride and the next thing you know you’re on top of the world, but just like in real life all good things must come to an end and it comes crashing to a fiery end. So in hindsight I guess you could accurately call Legend a gangster biopic. In addition to Hardy, the movie has some other big names like Emily Browning, Christopher Eccleston and Paul Bettany, also featuring Colin Morgan, David Thewlis, Tara Fitzgerald, and Taron Egerton in supporting roles. Brian Helgeland, which makes this his fifth feature if anyone is counting. The film is both written and directed by Mr. The novel is a time period piece (London during the 1960’s) that deals with the rise and fall of the Kray twins (obviously portrayed in a dual role performance by Hardy).
Legend is based on a book called The Profession of Violence: The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins by author John Pearson. After all, Tom Hardy is in my number one film of the year thus far so who am I to call his bluff? It’s almost as if I was meant to see Legend by some kind of divine intervention.
One of my reviewer friends in the Austin area saw it prior and said it would fit my movie consumption tastes perfectly. I honestly knew nothing more than that having never even checked out the film’s trailer nor researched it beforehand like I usually do. I strolled into Monday night’s press screening of the British crime thriller Legend armed with only two bits of information, Tom Hardy was the leading man and there was two of him.