The Krays; Legend. This Film not so much.

Rating: 6/10 (26 January 2016)

Now the story of the Krays is extremely well known in the UK up and down the country and so when we witness this on screen we know exactly what to expect, Lots of violence, insanity and deceit wrapped up in a twin bow. Now don't get me wrong we see all of this in Legend but by the ending of the film I was left feeling like it was missing something.
This is by no means a bad film, In fact its above average but I feel like Tom Hardy's excellent performance pushed it there and the rest was like a hollow shell with not much to offer.
My biggest annoyance with the film is there is very rarely scenes where the threat of violence looms which in doing so brings in a tense dramatic atmosphere. A great example of this is the film 'The Equalizer' where a certain restaurant scene made you quiver in fear and awe far more than any actual violence would do. After all its the perfect setting for scenes like that in Legend as The Krays real power came from not violence itself but the threat of it.
Now the slight comedy aspect of Legend threw me off a little bit to be honest but after a few attempts it fell into rhythm and worked reasonably well with the film, But by far what made this film was Tom Hardy's performance. It is incredibly difficult to portray not one but two different characters in a single film but he managed it amazingly and there is absolutely no better actor to take on this role. He held this film together and kept you watching through the duller scenes and the long build up.
The narration was well done and we got to see another figure in this well known tale have her story told but it never felt truly whole and it sidetracked us from more prominent people in the gang organisation who's faces were rarely seen and their story left unheard.
In ending I will say this a great one time watch film and if you're a fan of Tom Hardy as I am then I recommend watching Legend just for his outstanding performance alone.