Legend: Underwhelming story but good characters

Legend is a slow paced movie, that never really reaches it's climax. But while not getting your heart pounding for its lack of tension, its merits go towards the psychological insight into Tom Hardy's Kray twins.

On the left, Tom Hardy, and on the right, Tom Hardy

I would like to start out, stating that this review is limited to the context of movies, and does not evaluate or even take into consideration the film's historical accuracy.

Undoubtedly, this film's greatest achievement is Hardy's portrayal of both Reginald and Ronald Kray. His depiction of the twins alone, is enough to show his acting range, as you easily forget that those two people you see on screen, are actually the same. [...]

Throughout the movie, your judgement of each of the twins will change repeatedly. They are surely psychopathic, but the extent of that as well as the extent of their borderline humanity, oscillates, and interestingly shifts from one to the other.

Further more, the conflict between the two, interleaved with their strong "brotherly feelings", makes for an interesting relationship. As is their relationship with their mother, one that is actually quite unsettling if you think of the fact they are psycho gangsters. Also worth noting, is how deceiving their views are, as they may well think quite opposite to what they let on, something that is greatly reflected on Reginald's romantic relationship with Frances, as well as Ronald's interactions with her.

So in the end, Legend is really a film with meaningful technical (and to some extent, artistic) achievement for the double character, and great merit to Tom Hardy for his outstanding performances, but with a story that is, as a whole, underdeveloped, at the same time as it gives some insight into the twins' minds.

What did you think of Legend? Share your thoughts in the comments bellow!