Movie · 2015 · Crime, Thriller · 2h 12m · R · English
Curator score: 3.5/10 (456.5K ratings)
Love, fight, live, rule like a legend.
Overview
Suave, charming and volatile, Reggie Kray and his unstable twin brother Ronnie start to leave their mark on the London underworld in the 1960s. Using violence to get what they want, the siblings orchestrate robberies and murders while running nightclubs and protection rackets. With police Detective Leonard "Nipper" Read hot on their heels, the brothers continue their rapid rise to power and achieve tabloid notoriety.
Ratings
Curator score: 3.5/10
IMDb: 6.9/10
Letterboxd: 3.30/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 60%
Metacritic: 55
TMDB: 7.1/10
Director
Brian Helgeland
Production
Working Title Films, Anton Capital Entertainment, StudioCanal, Cross Creek Pictures
Cast
Tom Hardy, Emily Browning, Christopher Eccleston, David Thewlis, Taron Egerton, Chazz Palminteri, Colin Morgan, Paul Bettany, Tara Fitzgerald, Paul Anderson, Nicholas Farrell, Duffy, Kevin McNally, John Sessions, Sam Spruell, Millie Brady, Charley Palmer Rothwell, Bob Cryer, Samantha Pearl, Martin McCreadie
Curator Review
Verdict
A glossy, uneven London gangster drama with strong atmosphere and a dual-turn performance hook, but it never fully escapes familiar rise-and-fall crime-movie beats. It’s most rewarding if you want style, period detail, and Tom Hardy’s split-screen bravado more than a tightly disciplined true-crime story.
Best for
fans of British gangster films
viewers interested in 1960s London crime history
audiences who enjoy star-driven dual roles
people who like stylish, melodramatic crime dramas
Skip if
you want a sharply written, tightly plotted crime film
you dislike broad accents and heightened performances
you prefer gritty realism over glossy period style
you’re looking for a fresh take on the gangster genre
Overview
Legend is built around a great gimmick and a strong central performance idea: one actor playing two very different brothers, one charming and one volatile. That alone gives the film a charge, and the 1960s London setting is rendered with enough swagger to make the underworld feel seductive before it turns ugly.
Worth noting
The problem is that the movie often feels more interested in iconography than momentum. It moves through familiar crime beats, and the emotional shape of the story can feel blunt, even when the performances are lively. The result is watchable and occasionally very entertaining, but not as sharp or as dangerous as it wants to be.
Bottom line
If you’re here for atmosphere, tabloid-era gangster glamour, and a big actor doing big work in two roles, it delivers. If you want a more incisive or surprising crime drama, it lands closer to a stylish companion piece than a definitive statement.
Top Letterboxd reviews
#1 gizmo fan (4★) · 2251 likes
"I prefer boys."
2 STARS FOR EACH TOM HARDY
Hannah (2★) · 1426 likes
taron egerton’s only job in this movie was to stand there and look cute
maría (2.5★) · 1255 likes
This film is not worthy of having two Tom Hardys.
leo (4★) · 1219 likes
britain has 10 actors and 7 of them are in this
Lucy (3★) · 963 likes
funny, i don't remember the parent trap being this dark