An Enjoyable Telling Of London's Most Notorious Gangsters

Rating: 7/10 (23 March 2017)

I had been looking forward to seeing Legend since I knew of it's making and I'm glad to say I wasn't disappointed with this latest telling of the Krays infamous legacy. I'm not a "know-it-all" when it comes to the Krays, but I've been intrigued about them, their reign and how they came to be probably since The Krays (1990) was released. Legend was another chance to have a brief look into the lives of London's most feared criminals of the 50s and 60s.
This telling of the Krays story starts off by showing the two brothers already at the height of their power in the 60s and doesn't give much telling prior to their reign or of their upbringing which is a bit disappointing as that's a bit like entering a movie theater halfway through. Legend focuses more ON their legacy rather than that AND their lives prior which, like I say, is disappointing, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable.
As I mentioned earlier, The Krays (1990) is where I first started to gather interest in the twins and that film itself is an excellent watch with the Kemp Bros. giving really good performances. The main differences between the two films are the violence and the telling of the brothers early lives. Some of the violence in The Krays is quite brutal and the most violent it gets in Legend is the odd shooting, stabbing, and gang brawl. With the performance Hardy gives playing the two brothers, however, it's still enough to show that the Krays were not to be messed with.
Performance wise, Hardy's double role as the twins is nothing short of excellent with his different portrayals making it seem as if you're watching him and an identical Hardy brother. The cast all over do a very good job, but Hardy is the obvious standout, and the filming of his roles was handled really well especially when the two characters are on screen together.
If you enjoy gangster drama's such as The Godfather, Casino & Goodfellas then you won't go far wrong with Legend.