The film’s best moments are the quiet scenes between the two—Reggie trying to calm a ranting Ronnie, or Ronnie mockingly undermining Reggie’s pretensions of class. It’s a brilliant study of co-dependency and destruction.
But that gloss is also the film’s weakness. Legend often feels like a greatest-hits package of Kray mythology: the celebrity friendships (Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland get name-drops), the political blackmail, the gruesome murders (most famously, Jack "The Hat" McVitie). The film rushes through events with a breathless "and then this happened" pace, rarely pausing for consequence. Violence erupts, blood is spilled, and the film cuts to the next stylish set-piece. legend film 2015
Tom Hardy’s mesmerizing dual performance, the impeccable 60s aesthetic, and the darkly comic banter. Skip it if: You need historical accuracy, deep psychological insight, or a coherent female perspective. The film’s best moments are the quiet scenes
The story is framed through the eyes of Reggie’s wife, Frances Shea (a luminous but underutilized Emily Browning). Her narration attempts to ground the madness in a tragic romance, but the screenplay fails her. We see Frances fall for Reggie’s charm, then slowly realize the horror. However, because the film is so in love with the Krays' swagger, Frances’s perspective feels like an obligatory footnote. Her descent into depression and eventual suicide is undeniably tragic, but it plays as a subplot the film is eager to get through to return to the "fun" of Hardy’s dual performance. Legend often feels like a greatest-hits package of
