Legend (2015) [DVD]

Great move, hard to understand accents tho lol

Tom Hardy is excellent. Playing both twins is difficult but he owns them.

Great story! Excellent quality!

This movie was very well executed. All the cinematic bits that help a movie are there, the production value was very good, but was able to keep itself from becoming obtrusive which can sometimes happen in a period piece about such a flashy time such as the '60s. This is a gangster movie about a place and section of the UK that flirted with the glitz and glam of that era but was never really changed by it. The two main characters of this story, the twins have much the same feel. Their success and wealth they acquire through their criminal activities never really change them. The story shows the humanity in both men but never tries to justify or romanticize the type of men they were. They were who they were due to their own choices and chose their ultimate destinies, even if the consequences of that were ultimately tragic. If you like crime or ganster stories, you will enjoy this movie.Now for a bit of story criticism. The female lead in this movie, while still well cast and acted, does not feel as well fleshed out as the twins. She is presented a bit too one note from a story telling perspective. She has a similar role as the wife in Goodfellas but remains largely umblemished, innocent character till the end. While this serves the movie adequately, it is perhaps why the story does not quite feel that it reaches it full potential. Overall though, still a very good movie.

How Tom Hardy wasn't nominated for best lead AND supporting actor after viewing Legend, I have no idea.I also own the movie The Krays, starring the (real life) Kemp brothers as Reggie and Ronnie Kray and I feel that both movies are well done, yet show very different views of the Krays and their story. The Krays (movie) focused a great deal on the brother's mother and aunt's influence in shaping their lives early on. Legend however, barely acknowledged their mother at all (which I found a bit odd). The Krays (movie) focused a great deal on both brother's "activities" within the firm. Legend meanwhile, focused more on Reggie and his relationship with his wife Francis (and the effects of that marriage on the brother's relationship). In Legend, the movie is narrated by Francis, so I suppose it makes sense that it would be slanted a bit more towards Reg.Something I found interesting in the movie The Krays, Ronnie (played by Gary Kemp) is portrayed as openly homosexual, in complete control of his mental faculties but with a hair trigger temper and very prone to violence. Reggie (played by Martin Kemp) is portrayed (I thought) as taking a bit more of a backseat and letting Ronnie run a good deal of the show. Conversely, Legend shows Reggie as the brains behind the firm and struggling to keep Ronnie and his schizophrenia under some sort of control. Legend also addresses Ronnie's open homosexuality and "deviant, men only" parties that included several top politicians of the day. Unlike The Krays (movie) Legend delves into Ronnie's documented mental illness and how it added to the violent circus that followed him around (and ultimately was his undoing). The Krays movie never indicates that Ronnie has anything more than a violent temper.Both movies are top notch, but I'd have to categorize The Krays as perhaps being a touch more "Hollywood" in the way some things were glossed over. I did think the story about their mother (Violet) and aunt Rose was an important aspect of influence in their childhood. Tom Hardy was truly amazing the way he was able to portray both men as looking alike, yet managing to define them as individuals. There are still things that neither movie got right, or just plain omitted, but I don't think either movie glorified the brothers in the way that say The Godfather glorified the mafia. I would recommend Legend (and The Krays) to anyone interested in the Kray brothers, just remember to take it all with a grain or two of salt.One thing I wish the powers that be would rectify is the annoying fact that the movie The Krays STILL is NOT available on DVD in region 1 areas (North America and Canada). If you want to discover that cinema gem, you must have access to a VHS tape player (one of the few VHS tapes I held onto when I switched over to DVD). Somebody needs to get that movie on disc!!!

Tom Hardy, hands down stole the show in his portrayals of the late Ronnie and Reggie Kray, gangsters who had a reign of terror over East End London back in the 60s, and you really get a sense of that here. Tom Hardy did an excellent job playing Ron, the menacing, mentally ill sociopath with unpredictable bouts of violence and Reggie, the more charming but near equally twisted twin. More importantly, he made them distinct from each other and it was so engaging to see the two play off each other. Hollywood's done gangster films before, but none with such a compelling dynamic like this. This film hands down solidified Mr. Hardy as a very talented, multi-faceted actor gee whiz! Emily Browning (Frances) is gorgeous in this as always.I was expecting them to go into the later years of the Kray twins, like when they were incarcerated and afterwards, which would probably tack on another hour of run time, which I'd be so ok with and that's rare for me personally. I still think it would've been cool to see, but I understand why they kept the story to just right before their life sentences. I mean, this is where the meat of their timelines lie! And it also keeps the story laser focused (something which the movie Gotti could've taken pointers from) and let's us follow a narrative from beginning to end and how it unravels and how that affects everyone, especially our protagonists here. The dynamic is the most captivating thing as aforementioned above. So even though I wanted more, it's probably best that they kept it at the run time they had it at.Everyone did a great job here, but many faces here look unfamiliar so I couldn't say much past that. But I know they did good. I also love the nod to the weird rhyming slang that East End is so famous for (raspberry meaning cripple, as in raspberry ripple-> cripple). Makes it feel that much more authentic and is often used as a writing tool to signal to the viewers that you're watching a movie that either takes place in East End or has characters from there.I would absolutely recommend the movie 5/5, and if you're interested in more about the Kray twins, you should read into some more info about them. Reggie wrote an autobiography of the life portrayed here and more, and there's also poetry and love letters to read from especially Ron. You'll still find juicy bits after this movie, so good luck fellow reader!