Review – Legend

This is another one of those movies that looks like it went through several edits before making it to the screen. Of course, maybe parts just don’t make a whole lot of sense because it’s a lot of unicorn-intensive fantasy-ass nonsense to begin with. I’d have thought that Tom Cruise would have used some of his millions billions to buy up all the copies of this film, since his portrayal of the somewhat sexually ambiguous hero is some distance from the ultra-macho roles he usually favors (but then again, there’s also Interview with the Vampire). All that notwithstanding, this is a cute little film, notable for Ridley Scott’s ever-obsessive attention to the visuals and Rob Bottin’s Darkness makeup that actually makes bad guy Tim Curry look taller than around five foot six. If you can stomach all the new age blather, this is a fun way to kill an hour and a half. On the other hand, if you can get your hands on the Ultimate Edition DVD, you’re in for a real treat. This is the first time I’ve ever seen a director’s cut that was actually radically different from the general release version. The extra footage is substantial, to the point where the plot’s actually at least a little different. Even the soundtrack’s different (Jerry Goldsmith vs. Tangerine Dream). And in my opinion they should have left Scott alone on this; his version makes considerably more sense and works better as a story than what the studio came up with. Mildly amusing