Film Review: Legend (2015).

Hey, everyone. 

Hope you're having a good day so far. I've got a film review for you all today and it is Tom Hardy's new film; Legend. I saw it a couple of weeks ago and it was actually a lot better than I thought it would be. I don't particularly like gangster or crime thriller films but I do really like Tom Hardy so I thought I'd give it a try.

The Background

Legend is a British crime thriller written and directed by Brian Helgeland. It is based on the book The Profession of Violence: The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins which was written by John Pearson. It is about the relationship between the two brothers and their rise to fame as well as their downfall which saw them jailed in 1969. Tom Hardy plays both of the twins (Reggie and Ronnie Kray), Emily Browning as Reggie's wife Frances Shea, Taron Egerton as Edward 'Mad Teddy' Smith AKA Ronnie's on and off boyfriend and Christopher Eccleston as the detective who hunts down the Krays to bring their reign to an end.

My Thoughts
Tom Hardy was absolutely phenomenal as both of the Kray twins. He was formidable and fantastic. 

As Reggie Kray, he is a convincing, swaggering hardman with huge goals and a controlled streak of violence. He is stunning as Reggie and plays him perfectly through every scene. There are moments where you feel that he suffers from some of the same mental unrest as his brother especially in the final scene. As Ronnie Kray, he is both terrifying and engaging. He is a little hard to understand sometimes through his speech and bulging eye moments but Hardy plays both of these with ease. They literally become two different people in my eyes and I no longer see an actor trying to be two characters at once.  

Emily Browning as Frances Shea, Reggie's wife, narrates the plot throughout and it spans at least four years. Browning plays Frances quite well and makes her a fragile, despairing character. She also has the right amount of defiance about her as Reggie pulls her one way and then the other.

Taron Egerton plays Mad Ted very well too. The film openly shows Ronnie as homosexual and how notorious orgies were hosted at his apartment. However, it never quite shows him with anyone. Mad Teddy was Ronnie's boyfriend but this film coyly avoids confirming this. But Taron plays this character fantastically and shows just how mentally unstable he is just like his lover.

Overall, this film was great and really shows off Tom Hardy's talents which are finally being recognised. He is notorious for playing controversial characters like Charlie Bronson and now the Kray twins but despite the controversy, he plays them all with ease and that is why he is one the greatest actors of our generation.

Here's the trailer

Have you seen this film? What did you think of it?
Thankyou for reading.
Laura.