Okay, but relies too heavily on the novelty of Tom Hardy's dual performance

Rating: 7/10 (23 July 2016)

The story of the Kray brothers, Ron and Reggie, the twins you ran a gangster empire in London in the 1960s. We see their rise to power, the adversity they faced along the way and while at the top. Moreover, we see how the differences between the two - Reggie the calm businessman, Ron the impulsive thug - often undermines their partnership.
Interesting, but not that engaging or compelling. Pretty much a blow-by-blow (often literal) account of their criminal careers, and just that.
Some good action scenes and some good humour too, but these aren't enough on their own to lift the film beyond the mediocre.
What does lift the movie beyond mediocre is the performance(s) of Tom Hardy. He stars as both brothers and is in top form. Despite the brothers being twins, and being played by the same actor, he manages to give each of them different mannerisms, accents and appearances, to the point you can always tell the brothers apart.
You do get the feeling, however, that Hardy's dual performance is the only selling point of the movie. Once Hardy was locked in the writer and director felt they could just live off that novelty.