Legend
Originally published on Alt Media
Throughout the 1960’s, a pair of twins controlled London’s dark underbelly. Despite looking identical, Ronnie and Reggie Kray had very different personalities and traits. It is these two very distinct characters that Tom Hardy attempts to fill the shoes of in new flick, Legend.
During the film, Hardy does a rather admiral job in what can only be assumed was an extremely difficult set of roles to perform. Hardy’s portrayal of Reggie is fantastic, illustrating him as torn between his love for his wife and his brother, but also still depicting the character as dark and manipulative when necessary. The portrayal of Ronnie on the other hand is much less subtle, and often relies too heavily on wide-eyed craziness and self-deprecating homosexual jokes for laughs that muddle the atmosphere of the film.
‘Muddled’ is perhaps the best word to describe this film, as it seems that director Brian Hegeland was unable to decide on one particular story arch to follow – is this a crime drama, a love story/tragedy, or a comedy?
In terms of cinematography and visual effects, credit must be given where credit is due, especially in one particular scene which pits the two Kray boys against each other in a physical altercation which is near impossible to spot the joins in. (JA)
**1/2
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