Tom Hardy does not so much act in films as wildly devour them, drawing every last ounce of energy and audience love his way. In Legend... he sucks an entire dressing-up box towards him as well.
Legend seems like a movie Scorsese might have made if he wasn't paying attention - the elements are present but they are clumsily assembled and the outcome underwhelms.
Legend is the best movie of the year if your idea of a great movie is watching one of our preeminent actors hamming it up for two hours and change in service of a lacking story.
Hardy's performance - nay, performances - are so electrifying they cut through the confusion. Watch "Legend" for him and him alone. He's great, times two.
Watching Tom Hardy nearly upstage himself in the gangster biopic Legend makes for mesmerizing viewing. It's also an object lesson in how great acting can transcend a film's limitations.
The movie's a testament to the Krays' ability to get away with everything - for a while, anyway. But it's better evidence of Tom Hardy's ability to do just about anything.
Legend really does waste the majority of its potential, Helgeland never tapping into the story of the Kray brothers in a way that is essential or lasting.
Helgeland uses long-take shots through boisterous clubs, unreliable narration and splashes of violence to create a drama of little surprise and even less impact.
