Legend

Dir Brian Helgeland 

Tom Hardy, Emily Browning, Taron Egerton, Paul Anderson, Christopher Eccleston, David Thewlis 

In 1960s London, lived the Kray twins. Reggie, and Ronnie (Hardy), who are part of the dark underworld of gangsters. Reggie, is the more mature of the two – a club owner, and seeking out the love of Frances (Browning). Ron, a closet homosexual (who is secretly dating Egerton’s Teddy), is the more volatile of the two – and a sometimes un-medicated paranoid schizophrenic. 

I wanted so desperately to like this, and went in with such high expectations. But found it a bit of a letdown. 

The performance by Hardy as both Ron and Reg is the high point, and some of his co-stars are fine. However such big players like Eccleston and Thewlis are completely underused. Browning as the love interest is a little miscast, as I felt she did not bring enough maturity to the role. 

There are some odd moments in the film too, such as a moment later in the film where Reg does a horrible crime to Frances, which is completely out of character. There is also a small arc with an American gangster (played by the brilliant Chaz Palminteri) which didn’t really go anywhere. 

The setting of 1960s London is done very well, and was quite believable, from the hair, to the costumes and the setting. The direction by Helgeland is very well done, with an extremely impressive 8m continuous take when Reg and Frances go on their first date. 

Please check out our chat on our YouTube channel on this one. If you are a Tom Hardy fan (or a fan of gangster films), you will probably enjoy this. 

3/5