Read Mixed User Reviews for Legend (2015)

6

TimbarosJan 27, 2016

Tom Hardy is excellent as both the Kray Brothers in the mediocre film ‘Legend’.

‘Legend’ is mediocre because in the way the story is told. It is narrated by Frances Shea, the dead wife of Reginald ‘Reggie’ Kray. She committed suicide atTom Hardy is excellent as both the Kray Brothers in the mediocre film ‘Legend’.

‘Legend’ is mediocre because in the way the story is told. It is narrated by Frances Shea, the dead wife of Reginald ‘Reggie’ Kray. She committed suicide at the age of 24, too young to die but it’s a plot device that doesn’t quite work as she’s telling the story from beyond the grave.

Tom Hardy does indeed play both Kray Brothers. He’s Reggie, confident, goodlooking, extreme extrovert, who always gets the girl. He’s also Ronald ‘Ronnie’ Kray, the not-so-goodlooking, introvert, schizophrenic brother, who was also gay. It’s Reggie who seems to hold all the cards and makes most of the most decisions for the brothers, and Hardy goes all out in playing both of these characters. When tough, he’s Reggie, when a bit soft, he’s Ronnie, and when he’s playing either one he’s excellent.

‘Legend’ is based on the book ‘The Profession of Violence: The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins’ by John Pearson. The brothers sure did rise, ruling over East London during the 1960’s, ordering killings during the day and then going over to mum’s house for dinner the same evening. They also ran clubs and protection rackets.

‘Legend’ is a slick retelling of the brothers story. Written by Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential and Mystic River), the film primarily focuses on Reggie Kray’s relationship with Shea (played a bit overdramatically by Emily Browning), yet downplays any real relationship that Ronnie was involved in. Sure, he had male hangers-on who were presumably with him for his money and power (definitely not for his looks), but it’s all about Reggie and Shea. Their relationship was true love, and while Shea was very young when she started dating Reggie, at age 16, and then they got married when she was 22, and as played by Browning, not everything was right with her mind. Hardy is excellent as both brothers (Hardy has yet to give a bad performance, just this past year he was in ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ and ‘Child 44’ and last year was his best performance to date, as the only character in the film ‘Locke,’ – it’s a must see). But it’s also a bit distracting watching him play both roles, especially when in scenes together. I kept on looking for irregularities, yet it was a bit obvious that doubles were used, especially in the fight scenes. Anyway, the brothers were imprisoned in 1969 for their long laundry list of murders, which is when their reign of terror ended. Legend was supposed to have been released on October 2 but the film studio felt that that weekend was ‘bulked up’ with too many guy pics; 20th Century Fox’s ‘The Martian’ and Sony’s Imax-fueled ‘The Walk’. So ‘Legend is now available on DVD.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

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6

CineAutoctonoFeb 23, 2016

"Legend" was an almost interesting movie , but fully on the life of the Kray brothers, exciting, and surprising, Tom Hardy playing these two characters, so Tom Hardy was one of the actors in the new era, more complete they have been.

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5

John935Apr 4, 2016

Disappointing but not a disaster. Hardy is good, but we expected that. Girlfriend is boring and the whole shebang feels curiously inert. I'm noticing an odd trend, where period films of the 60s and 70s (e.g., Fargo, second season) portray theDisappointing but not a disaster. Hardy is good, but we expected that. Girlfriend is boring and the whole shebang feels curiously inert. I'm noticing an odd trend, where period films of the 60s and 70s (e.g., Fargo, second season) portray the period as extremely distant. I happen to remember those periods so the extreme distancing seems dishonest. Anyway, Hardy kept me watching Legend but I was conscious of time elapsing too. It's hard to pinpoint why but the film never fully engaged.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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5

RalfbergsAug 22, 2016

I don't know, I don't consider this movie as great as most of others here did. Yes, I liked the premise, the way it shows gangster life, the trailer was good, Tom Brady was promising and did provide his acting chops at highest level as usual,I don't know, I don't consider this movie as great as most of others here did. Yes, I liked the premise, the way it shows gangster life, the trailer was good, Tom Brady was promising and did provide his acting chops at highest level as usual, but the whole story itself was quite boring - I wanted something more interesting or more comic, as it felt it might be a good comedic gangster movie. But really, this movie is quite forgetabble, I watched it 2 months ago and barely remember what happened in the middle, besides the bar fight and the ending. I think it could've been a lot better. Only thing I really did enjoy was Tom Hardy's performance… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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6

The3AcademySinsNov 18, 2019

While Tom Hardy is excellent playing double duty as two criminal twin brothers, I felt a little let down by Legend. The movie really doesn't deviate from the established "gangster story." While this is not necessarily a bad thing, the filmWhile Tom Hardy is excellent playing double duty as two criminal twin brothers, I felt a little let down by Legend. The movie really doesn't deviate from the established "gangster story." While this is not necessarily a bad thing, the film meanders and does not build or establish characters in any interesting way. This is a real shame, as Hardy gives a great performance. There is really nothing remarkable at all about Legend, other than Tom Hardy elevating the movie to slightly above average for me. It plays everything way too safe, which is unfortunately Legend's biggest flaw.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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5

imthenoobJan 20, 2016

Great job by the cast, The movie is truly well acted and Tom Hardy does a wonderful job. That being said, It's one of the most shallow films I've seen. There's no depth to the plot, It's time jump after time jump. There never feels to be anyGreat job by the cast, The movie is truly well acted and Tom Hardy does a wonderful job. That being said, It's one of the most shallow films I've seen. There's no depth to the plot, It's time jump after time jump. There never feels to be any real story or narrative to it and I think that's what stops it from being anything other than average.… Expand

4 of 5 users found this helpful41

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6

SchroederRockMar 30, 2016

Legend is carried solely by its cast. The writing and plot progressions have their moments, but after about half an hour I found the pacing of Legend to be a little too slow. The life of the Kray brothers might have been worthy of recreationLegend is carried solely by its cast. The writing and plot progressions have their moments, but after about half an hour I found the pacing of Legend to be a little too slow. The life of the Kray brothers might have been worthy of recreation via film, but this result doesn't quite do the story justice. It doesn't help that half of the dialogue is near-impossible to understand. I had to put on subtitles to understand most of the movie. I understand being true to source material, but that aspect really hurt the experience in my book.… Expand

3 of 4 users found this helpful31

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6

Compi24Nov 25, 2015

Tom Hardy solidifies his sheer star power in Brian Helgeland's "Legend," an entertaining, yet decidedly off-kilter portrait of London's most fearsome criminal duo.

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

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5

GinaKDec 21, 2015

It’s a shame this movie wasn’t better. Tom Hardy’s dual performance was brilliant, and the film was not badly directed. Unfortunately, the script was a clunker – things happened, but there was no drama or suspense or building to anythingIt’s a shame this movie wasn’t better. Tom Hardy’s dual performance was brilliant, and the film was not badly directed. Unfortunately, the script was a clunker – things happened, but there was no drama or suspense or building to anything much. Mom, who was a real force, was barely there at all. In real life, the Krays did “evolve” (for the worst, of course), but the incidents in this film went nowhere. So sadly I can’t recommend this film, unless you are a die hard Tom Hardy fan.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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6

OzyFeb 18, 2016

I thought Tom Hardy was really good in this. The movie portrays one of England's most notorious gangs the Kray twins. Although a good movie, i felt it could have gone a whole lot deeper in to their psyche. The makers of this movie should haveI thought Tom Hardy was really good in this. The movie portrays one of England's most notorious gangs the Kray twins. Although a good movie, i felt it could have gone a whole lot deeper in to their psyche. The makers of this movie should have watched Chopper a few times before filming.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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4

AliceofXNov 20, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I bet that you, like me, walked into the theatre expecting to see a gangster movie about the Kray twins only the film is not about them at all. Instead the central character is Frances and the entire story is told from her point of view. You don't get a picture of the criminal world just long love scenes between Reggie and Frances.

To illustrate it there is a scene where Frances asks Reggie to leave the gangster world and he answers that it's not that simple. And I was sitting there asking - why? If the film had actually shown the Kray's criminal life I could have understood his reasons for saying that. But as it is Reggie and Ron remain a mystery, their stories are never really told.

Also, and this seems to be a pet peeve of mine lately, the movie is over-narrated. It doesn't just stop at things that need to be explained for people to understand the story it is actively telling and not showing and expecting that to make up for the lacking plot.

Around 2/3 of the way in I was getting bored with Legend as it didn't deliver in any way. Perhaps it doesn't deserve a score as low as 2/5, perhaps some people will enjoy it a bit more than I did, but what got me the most was that at the end the film actually had gall the to preach their "morality" at the viewer. That's what really got me the most.

Overall the Legend is a mediocre film that's not really as good as the trailers make it out to be.… Expand

0 of 6 users found this helpful06

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5

johnem95Dec 22, 2015

In Legend, Tom Hardy gives an admirably committed performance in a dual role, unfortunately, the movie he's in can't match the greatness of his performance.

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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5

ydnar4Jan 16, 2016

I'm as big of a Tom Hardy fan as anyone but I couldn't help but be a little disappointed by Legend. Legend was one of the most anticipated movies of the Oscar season because it had Tom Hardy playing a set of twins and the performance reallyI'm as big of a Tom Hardy fan as anyone but I couldn't help but be a little disappointed by Legend. Legend was one of the most anticipated movies of the Oscar season because it had Tom Hardy playing a set of twins and the performance really doesn't disappoint although it didn't pick up an nominations. Hardy completely carries Legend, its a film that is fairly dull, repetitive and overlong without his performance. Emily Browning is pretty strong as the love interest as well and Taron Edgeron from Kingsmen is in this film but he really doesn't have much of a role which was disappointing. Legend seems almost style over substance. The film looks really great but a film that relies so much on the twins storyline the twins really don't have that many good scenes together and their relationship is underdeveloped in favor of an on again off again love story. I can still recommend Legend if you are a Tom Hardy fan but outside of that there isn't much to be had here.… Expand