A solid effort and outcome

Rating: 6/10 (12 January 2016)

In the shadows of Johnny Depp's "Black Mass", there is another crime thriller based on real characters and events from 2015: This is "Legend". It was written and directed by Academy Award winner Brian Helgeland ("L.A. Confidential") and runs for an impressive 132 minutes. Actor Tom Hardy plays twin brothers Ronald and Reggie Kray, who are very different in terms of character for the most part of the film, but actually really similar in terms of certain crucial situations. Hardy definitely did a fine job with this double role he has here and his acting, together with the film's script, result in a couple pretty great moments. This fraternal relationship is one of the core elements of the film. Others include one character's relationship with Emily Browning's character. She played her character well too and was a very positive surprise. I must say I have never been a big Tom Hardy fan, but with performances like these, he certainly elevates my interest in him. Finally, there are of course many crime-related (sometimes also police-related) developments happening in here, also interesting to watch for the most part.
I liked the watch. I believe this film could have been kept down at 110 minutes maybe with cutting out the occasional moment that drags, but it's still never really bad in terms of getting bored because it is a very long film. The main characters are all fun and exciting to watch and will maybe even have your eyes glued to the screen on some occasions. The supporting actors are not all that tremendously exciting to watch, but most of them are fine too. And of course, there is still the crucial factor that this is based on real people. Ronnie's homosexuality and the way he actually dealt with it publicly in a very progressive manner resulted in the occasionally awkward laugh here, together with Hardy's excellent delivery. I am not sure if this film has a performance as good as Edgerton in "Black Mass", but it's good acting all around in here and if you have seen and enjoyed that one, it's very likely that you will enjoy this film here too. 2015 is certainly a good year for films based on real life gangsters. I recommend "Legend". Nowhere near the level where I would consider this one of the year's finest achievements, but delightful to watch. Thumbs up. Also for the inclusion of "Going to the Chapel" and "Something Stupid". Some great music in here.