Legend

Legend is the only movie in which you will see Tom Hardy at a gay party, spanking a naked twink’s posterior with a carpet beater. The “gayness” of one of the brothers is also the cause of the funniest scene in the film (the first encounter with Las Vegas mafioso Chazz Palminteri). This is a fun gangster movie, standing more on a cool double role than on a dramaturgical storyline. The relationship between the brothers and the difference Hardy has mastered so well drive the film forward. I was also pleased with the depiction of the London retro-world through the lens of American gangster movies (Scorsese). The other half of the movie could have been accelerated, but I’m still giving it the fourth star, because I enjoyed exploring the diversity of Hardy’s double creation more than I expected. (06/10/2015)

Brian Helgeland should stick to writing scripts, because when he's behind the camera, his films have no drive and the result is bland. And that is doubly unfortunate for a retro gangster movie like this, as the form is OK, there aren’t life wisdom and truths, and there’s even less Chazz Palminteri, and the film's plot structure is just there because it has to be. Otherwise, it's Tom Hardy's one-man-show, and a very brilliant one at that. If I wanted to watch an appetiser and a main course in one night, I'd go with Legend and maybe Goodfellas. (17/10/2015)

Those of you who don’t like Hardy must take off two stars, because it is the acting performances that pull this rather standard gangster movie to new heights. Legend is too long for the little that happens in the movie. Either they should have shortened it, or draw out the Cray Bros. Odyssey into a miniseries. Not at all a bad movie, but it had much more potential. Amongst the competition - Peaky Blinders on TV - at the theater any Scorsese is the second from the back. Hardy’s Reggie and Ronnie are the pack-horses of this movie and worth every penny. The more I think about it, the character Emily Browning character perhaps unnecessarily slowed things down and bringing in a human touch. Helgeland is still good at his job, but can do better. (19/10/2015)

Tom Hardy felt like a dual role and a dual role he got. And truth be told, he did a more-or-less good job portraying the two brothers, who are both criminals and who are each a little different. It’s a pity that the movie only starts getting really interesting once their entire empire begins to crumble apart. At that point, Legend capitalized on the entire story, which was otherwise not that interesting, and the movie prepared a rather tragic unravelling of the plot. And that was good. Mainly because the story was written by life itself. I actually felt really sad at the end of the movie about the human tragedy. (03/10/2016)

A rhetorical question grasped at the right end of the rope, "What else is missing from a good crime thriller with Tom Hardy?" Another Tom Hardy, of course! And what else on earth could a good crime thriller with two Tom Hardys be missing? (geez I sure took on a challenge) Emily Browning. Mm mmm. Three goals before the game has even started isn't entirely fair, but times are fair to the crooked, and with the team being ruled by the steady hand of proven coach Helgeland, I'd put my money on this one anyway. A hard-edged, stylized biopic that at times throws pure gold at the audience (the mobster's people's court) and then again isn't afraid to lie to the audience about what they’re seeing. Perhaps the only detriment is the obvious fact that the director of Payback had to be kept on a leash again, because more than once he can be seen wanting to step on turf that is clearly marked with signs that read "Do Not Enter! Love, Your Producers." However, for the promise of a director's cut and the once again incredible Hardy... Well, I can't help it. (03/02/2016)