A missed opportunity

Rating: 6/10 (30 October 2015)

The prospect of Tom Hardy playing one character in a movie is enticing, so the thought of him playing two had me licking my lips. Sadly the result isn't what it could have been. In the past I've found the films Brian Helgeland has directed to be misfires that ultimately had a lot of squandered potential. 'Legend' is no exception. Hardy is as great as he ever is, but the rest of the film is really lacking. You never know if you're supposed to be laughing or intimidated by the violence. Even the violence is often comical itself.
While Hardy is great in both the roles he plays (espcially that of 'Ronald Kray') the script and directing really hold him back. Great roles demand great opening scenes where the character completely establishes itself and we are made aware of what we are in for the rest of the film. 'Legend' however is completely void of that scene. Also the narration by Emily Browning's character 'Frances Shea' does not work because nothing she says is the least bit interesting. I think they were trying to take a leaf out of Martin Scorcese's 'Casino' but it failed miserably.
The film isn't completely awful, it simply isn't what it could have been, which is disappointing. There are some clever scenes here and there and the odd well timed bit of humour (mostly down to Hardy's delivery) but all this can't save it from being a pretty forgettable 131 minutes. I went in hoping for a brilliant cross between 'Goodfellas' and 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'. What I got was closer to a very violent episode of 'EastEnders'. Very frustrating.