Bonded by blood

Rating: 3/10 (4 June 2017)

Some years after they died, Reggie Kray and his more psychotic twin brother Ronnie still attract attention.
They ruled the London underworld in the 1960s and attracted glamour through celebrities as well as the attention of the police. They used threats and violence to establish a foothold to run nightclubs and operate protection rackets. Dogged detective Nipper Read tried for years to get the twins behind bars.
Tom Hardy plays both roles. Reggie is the more straightforward gangster, level headed, he falls in love but still prone to bouts of violence. Ronnie suffered from complex schizophrenia, he was unhinged, homosexual and could fly off the handle very easily.
Brian Helgeland wrote and directed this rather muddled film. Apart from the brothers and Reg's romance with Frances, most of the characters are caricatured and the story flatly portrayed which needed a heavy voice over. Christopher Eccleston is wasted as Nipper Read and the third Kray brother is never mentioned.
Peter Medak's 1990 film The Krays which was more low budget tried at least to aim higher. It showed the brothers coming up through the ranks as gangsters and the enemies they made, we see them getting into trouble during National Service and we also see a more complex relationship they has with their mother.