Set in 1960's London featuring two of the most famous gangsters in Britain will involve a lot of strong violence and deceit. This is content that usually interests many film studios, especially when Tom Hardy will be the star attraction.
Hardy has quickly become the most wanted physical actor in the filming industry. From his breakthrough in Bronson, to big action blockbusters like Inception and The Dark Knight Rises. Hardy will be playing both Kray's, which I think is a great idea by the casting team as we get to see more of Tom, which I think many will agree is a good thing.
A lot of people rightly had their suspicions of Hardy playing both roles would end up being quite gimmicky and be a big distraction. I did have a slight uncertainty, but I was highly confident Tom would knock it out of the park.
Thankfully, by far the best part of this film is Tom Hardy's two performances as Ronnie and Reggie Kray. The clever use of editing makes the dual performance possible, and within minutes of the film starting, you do forget that Hardy is playing both twins. His performance of Ronnie especially makes you see Hardy disappear into the character. His unnerving showing as the psychotic Ronnie with a nice amount of humor really deserves praise, as well as portraying an understated, slick and suave portrayal of Reggie. If it is not for these performance, then Hardy will get nominated for an Oscar and possibly win one in no time. He just gets better and better every time.
Emily Browning was a solid contributor as the leading female and gave us an interesting side to the people who loved the Krays. But not David Thewlis or even the short appearance of the amazing Paul Bettaney could contend with Hardy.
The use of violence and swearing can make this an unpleasant watch at times. But at times, they do give it a comedic twist to it which was good to see. It also shows the reality of the Krays crimes, which makes the events all the more frightening.
From a technical side, it is well directed by Brian Helgeland who has experience with gangster flicks such as 'L.A. Confidential'. Also the set designs looked wonderful. It really felt like I had instantly travelled back and was dropped into the cobbled streets of the East End. The cinematography by Oscar nominee Dick Pope is slick and at times very film-noir, and the use of music from that period was wisely used.
Despite an intriguing opening act, it does gradually slow down to make it not as exhilarating. When you break it down, the plot does take a long time to get going. It also seems to tell a part of their story that not many would be expecting.
With that in mind, Legend is still a good watch and I was never bored. It definitely gives you a sense of the world the Krays were part of. But the climax I don't think never really came to anything. It was more like the director and his crew showed a slice of their life during the time when they were all conquering across the East End of London.
While the potential is there for a great story, there is an unfortunate structure to the choice of story despite the amazing performances, surprising amount of humor and well presented violence. There are definitely better gangster films out there, but this is still worth seeing.
Rating: 7/10
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