I’m a massive fan of Tom Hardy, I have been ever since I saw Bronson back in 2009. Since then, the British actor has gone on to become one of the most interesting and versatile actors in mainstream and independent cinema. Knowing this, it should be no surprise that writer/director Brian Helgeland’s biographical crime thriller Legend happens to be one of my most anticipated films of the year.
Legend is a film that tells the story of the Kray brothers, the notorious twin gangsters who held and operated an organized crime empire in the East End of London during the 1960s. Reggie Kray was the smart businessman of the organization, he was strong and didn’t take shit from anyone, but he was the one that kept everything level while Ronnie did his thing. Ronnie was the psycho brother, he was tough, violent and also a known homosexual who would later be diagnosed as certified insane.
The film itself is narrated by Reggie Kray’s lover and eventual wife Frances Shea (Emily Browning), she’s the one that connects the various stories throughout the film. Legend focuses mostly on Reggie’s reign, his love life with Frances and the advancement of the Kray Empire until he goes to jail and Ronald takes over. Once Reggie is released from prison, the film focuses on the expansion, brotherly troubles and romantic difficulties that Reggie and Frances begin to experience.
As a whole, I enjoyed the film. The movie is long, coming in at 131 minutes, and it’s the change in pace throughout the film that really left its impact on me. I loved the first half of the film, it was quick, fun, brutal and made for great crime entertainment. When the drama hit that’s when the tone and pace shifted and it made the second half of the movie feel incredibly long winded. I like good drama in a crime flick but the romance aspect really took away from my interest in watching the potential collapse of an empire. That being said, the romance seemed to be a key element in Reggie’s life so it was important to the story to have it there.
As a sucker for gangster films, though who isn’t really, this one was certainly above average in terms of quality. Its only competition this year was Black Mass, another biographical story of a crime lord, and I think this ended up being only slightly better (maybe because I’ve never heard of the Krays). That being said, the main reason to see Legend is the same reason you should see Black Mass, the performances by the leads are terrific. Tom Hardy is awesome and while, at times, the roles can be similar, the two brothers are drastically different characters and Tom Hardy is able to show off a lot of his range. Sure, at times it feels like you’ve seen these characters before in some shape or form from his past films, but when they’re put side by side it’s hard not to truly appreciate the art of acting.
Overall, Legend wasn’t exactly the film I was hoping it to be but it was still a pretty damn cool gangster film that’ll satisfy fans of the genre. If you love Tom Hardy, British crime, and want some good laughs mixed in with violence and drama, Legend is certainly a good option among the diverse films that have opened this weekend.
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