A Crime Drama That's Completely Devoid Of Any Sort Of Escalation!

Rating: Null/10 (24 December 2015)

Despite featuring Tom Hardy in not one but two roles, Legend still ends up falling incredibly short of whatever it was trying to accomplish for the story about the notorious Kray twins & their organised crime empire in the East End of London during the 1950s & 1960s which its writer-director attempts to bring to life on the film canvas is absolutely devoid of any sort of escalation.
Legend chronicles the rise & fall of the Kray twins, two of Britain's most infamous gangsters who rose to power by controlling a larger part of London's criminal underground. The plot is more focused on Reggie's life and follows his journey, covering the start of Kray empire, his stint with love, and the blood bond that keeps the twins together despite their differing modus operandi.
Written & directed by Brian Helgeland, Legend begins on an promising note but very soon, all that promise goes out of the window as the story just keeps going around in circles. The entire movie is, more or less, one flimsy moment after another and stays on the same level throughout its runtime and even Helgeland's efforts to bring conflict into the story fails to leave any lasting impression.
Coming to the performances, Tom Hardy steers the film past its finish line despite it running out of fuel before the halfway mark and does a good job in his dual role of Reggie & Ronnie Kray, the former being a levelheaded, calculative & charming Kray of the two while the latter is a violence-oriented psychopath. Plus, Hardy gets fine support from Emily Browning & David Thewlis who play Reggie's love interest & Krays' business manager, respectively.
On an overall scale, Legend had all the ingredients & a capable cast to succeed as one thrilling crime drama but thanks to improper execution of its plot & its failure to dig deeper into the moments that had little glimpses of greatness, it finishes as a bland, flavourless & highly mediocre movie that left me quite unaffected in the end. A disappointing, forgettable & lacklustre cinema that's completely oblivious of its very own potential, Legend isn't worthy of your time & money.