An absolute must see for Tom Hardy fans

Rating: 7/10 (28 March 2020)

Legend is an intense watch with moments of huge enjoyment! A biopic of the real life criminals Ronald and Reggie Kray, identical twins who ruled the London underworld in the 1960s through horrific violence and inflicting fear. The prospect of Hardy playing both the twins sounded amazing from the get go and it's executed perfectly; in fact he is the absolute star on the film and the best part. What's most impressive is how he injects comic moments that enhance the tone into more of a pitch black comedy than a straight drama (Ronnie is a great cinematic creation) Having said that, the story does have incredibly dramatic moments that were harrowing to watch especially the first time round. If you're a sensitive viewer, like myself in many ways, there are a couple of scenes that will make you wince and stay with you for a while. One of which is an absolute brutal act of murder that is made all the more disturbing that it actually happened and is a viscerally brilliant scene but also a more problematic moment in which sexual assault is implied which I think is one of the downfalls of the film. It wasn't necessary and upon further reading apparently not factually accurate either. Writer/Director Brian Helgeland (A Knight's Tale, Payback) clearly has a lot of passion for the project and set out to make a modernised account of this story which is filmed and performed extremely well. Emily Browning is also fantastic as Frances and is our entrance point into the film on an emotional level I think. Although it may fall narratively at points, it's still a gripping watch and it's lead performances make this gangster flick stand out