Legend was Ridley Scott's follow up to his most personal film Blade Runner. And it was the start of his "average" phase. Legend is a decent film- it looks astonishing Ill give it that. But the story is basic and Tom Cruise is simply adequate. Tim Curry as the bad guy actually completely steals the show but overall this is just an okay film filled with pretty visuals. If you want to watch a fantasy there are other better films. Unless you're a fan of Ridley Scott or Tom Cruise I think you can safely avoid this.

First of all, I must admit that I haven't seen the much longer director's cut with Jerry Goldsmith's original score, but I will definitely check that one out and perhaps come back to re-evaluate Legend. The director's cut of Blade Runner completely shifted my opinion about that movie, and I see a lot of potential here, as well. (Moreover, the extended cuts of both Kingdom of Heaven and Gladiator are also better than their respective theatrical versions, and having seen what he cut out of Prometheus, it is safe to say that it's always worth giving a chance to the outtakes and long versions of Ridley Scott's movies.)Legend is a gorgeously designed and photographed dark fairy-tale, but unfortunately the theatrical version gradually sinks into boredom and falls to pieces by the end. The beginning, however, is stunningly beautiful. Thirty years later, the visuals are still jaw-dropping and for that alone, the film is definitely worth a watch. No other fantasy film has such a dreamlike quality that carries the sense of fairy-tale magic.Ridley Scott's fourth feature film could have been his fourth classic in a row – or is it? It all depends on the additional 30 minutes I have yet to see.

Legend is not a film you'd expect from director Ridley Scott, more known for historic and scifi films, yet when you look closer, you start to see the resemblance to his other films. The definite epic scope, the endless struggle between fluttering good and overpowering, almost invincible evil, the use of heavy shadows and colours, the amazing production values.Legend is an important film for the fantasy film genre because of how it looks. It was one of the first films of its genre where real money was spent on set designs and special effects. And it shows. It's a gorgeous film with a unique look that has influenced most films that succeeded it. Even if that unique look means making the whole world glitter worse than all of the Twilight films combined.The costumes are also some of the best we had seen until then and they hold up pretty well even today. Tim Curry's devil costume is especially impressive on all levels. It's iconic, scary, yet expressive design that's sure to leave a lasting impression.Unfortunately, it's not a perfect film. The story itself is not bad, but I get the sense that Scott bit off more than he could chew or simply couldn't properly transfer his idea on to the silver screen. It has the makings of an epic, but the stages do not reach suitable heights to impress and the characters feel flat.This last point is not helped by the actors. This was one of Tom Cruise's first film roles and while it's not one of his worst, you can still definitely see some of his worst habits and mannerisms in display. Mia Sara as Lili, the resident damsel in distress, is also not all that interesting or captivating, though she has her moments and is hold back by the clichéd script more than anything else.But then we have Tim Curry. And by gods, is he a sight to behold. His character, Darkness, is perhaps the only reason why this movie has gathered a cult following. He defines the trope darkness is sexy, with his smooth voice, ridiculously corny lines that he still makes work, somehow, and general presence that has never fitted him better than here, in an eight feet tall devil getup.Legend is worth a watch for fans of the fantasy genre. It helped move the genre forward, contains some amazing moments and is also very pretty film in general. The story and most of the characters are not amazing, but they're not bad either, and most everyone should find something they like here.

After finishing Blade Runner, I guess Ridley Scott decided "What if I did an ultra-pretentious fantasy movie...and use that unicorn from Blade Runner that left people guessing!". So here it is, Legend, the movie that is in no way legendary and in no way as good as Blade Runner. In fact, it's pretty awful.Tom Cruise plays Jack, a forest dweller who takes his girlfriend, a princess, to see unicorns. She touches a unicorn, taints it, and suddenly the world is spiraling out of control at the Lord of Darkness (Tim Currey) attempts to kill the last unicorn and never have the sun rise again.All the Ridley Scott trademarks are here and, if I can commend the movie on anything, it's the cinematography. But it's otherwise a very lackluster movie as far as being pretentious goes. Seriously, people love this movie for being so mysterious but the bright white unicorns opposing the devils is pretty solid, easy to understand symbolism. The light and dark thing is also pretty simple. There's none of the origami or anything that made Blade Runner a thinking person's movie, it's just an example of a dumb fantasy movie (which the 80's produced quite a few of).On top of the failed attempt at pretentiousness is the unmemorable characters, the boring performances, and, to top it all off, the awful action sequences. Tom Cruise obviously does no stunt work here as the action scenes be sure to cut Jack's face from the frame.Legend is better than Scott's G.I Jane but it's not at all a good movie. Some like to say it's adult fantasy but I could see a child watching this and getting the gist of it. Save the forest, light and dark coexist, yin yang, all that.Legend sucks.