Film Review: Legend (1985)

Few film makers had such fortune at the start of their respective careers as Ridley Scott did. British director, following critically acclaimed debut The Duellists, directed Alien and Blade Runner - two films that would become undisputed classics of the science fiction genre. All good runs, however, had to end and for Scott it happened in 1985 with his fantasy epic Legend.

The plot is set in large mythical forest in ancient times. It begins with Lord of Darkness (played by Tim Curry) expressing desire to bring the eternal darkness to the world. In order to do so, he must kill the unicorns. Problem for him is that such creatures can be approached only by someone who is completely innocent. Princes Lili (played by Mia Sara) is a young woman who prefers wandering the forest to living in palace. She has befriended Jack (played by Tom Cruise), young forester who wants to teach her how to talk with animals. She talks him into bringing her to unicorns and, although she is warned by Jack not to do it, she touches the unicorn allowing goblins in Darkness’ service to wound him and take away one of the alicorns. As the world begins to be affected by sudden winter and darkness, both Jack and Lili are aware that something must be done to set the world right. With the help of elves, fairies and dwarves, two of them start trek towards the castle where they would ultimately confront Darkness.

Scott had high budget at his disposal and he made certain that each cent will be visible on the screen. Great deal of effort was spent to make Legend look and sound as impressive as possible. Production design by Assheton Gordon has created magical world of the forest, entirely made in famous Pinewood Studios, and, especially in the beginning, more perceptive viewers will be impressed by the level of detail. Scott’s achievement is even more impressive in light of the fact that the production had to be postponed due to catastrophic fire that had ravaged the set. Scott also enjoyed services of famous makeup artists Rob Bottin who made impressive work of almost all fantasy characters, most notably Darkness which is depicted as frightening yet charismatic and seductive Satan-like villain. Finally, Jerry Goldsmith delivered another effective musical score (although producers had replaced it with synthesiser-heavy work by Tangerine Dream in original US theatrical version).

Unfortunately, all this sense of style is for naught, because Legend doesn’t hide lack of substance. The plot is generic, the fictional world is undeveloped and Scott still has problems directing action scenes, especially at the end. Tom Cruise is utterly bland and unconvincing, and has zero chemistry with Mia Sara in her film debut. She does much better job in the scenes featuring Tim Curry who is great even under tons of makeup. Most of the supporting actors are wasted under makeup, while Swiss actor Robert Bennent (known for his role of The Tin Drum) does a decent job as childlike elf. Legend, despite all those flaws, could have been nevertheless an impressive film, but few unfortunately anachronistic lines of dialogue destroy the magic and remind the audience that they are watching uninspired Hollywood product instead of classic fairytale. Rejected by audience and critics alike, Legend represented huge setback for Scott who had to spend many years before revisiting his career highs.

RATING: 4/10 (++)

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