This post containsspoilersfor “Legend.”
Ridley Scott kicked off his career with an astounding trifecta of films: his brilliant theatrical debut, “The Duelists,” followed by the inimitable “Alien” and the widely influential “Blade Runner.” Each of these entries is nothing like the other, showcasing Scott’s ability to effortlessly hop between genres. So when Scott turned his attention toward a dark fantasy adventure next, no one knew what to expect, given the director’s penchant to veer into unexpected creative directions. And veer he did, creating a mythical saga that is both visually stunning and thematically disorienting in its exploration of good and evil. I’m talking about “Legend,” the cult classic that confounded critics and audiences alike during the spring of 1986, but has gone on to chart a memorable legacy within the sword and sorcery genre.
“Legend” follows Jack (Tom Cruise), a forest child who must embrace the mantle of a pure being to defeat the demonic Lord of Darkness (Tim Curry). His lover, Princess Lili (Mia Sara), falls prey to Darkness’ schemes and is lured into his lair, which prompts Jack to embark on a journey of heroic proportions. Although these tropes are fairly standard for the dark fantasy genre, Scott goes to great lengths to draw inspiration from more macabre fairy tales like the ones penned by the Brothers Grimm. The result is a dreary, fever-dream of an atmosphere that looks like a gothic fantasy come to life. Here, idyllic forests are turned into barren wastelands in the blink of an eye, and pure-hearted unicorns are hunted for their precious horns.
Scott’s “Legend” is an undisputed technical triumph, boasting gorgeous on-location sets that were painstakingly built to mimic a world both bleak and fantastical. But does this cult classic stand the test of time?
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Legend is a cliché-filled fairy tale with impressive theatrical flourish
“Legend” has three alternate endings, thanks to two slightly different theatrical versions (American and European) and a Director’s Cut that ends things on a decisively bittersweet note. No matter which cut you prefer, the meat of this fairy tale remains unchanged, as it operates on dated expectations and hackneyed archetypes. We have the unambiguously good heroic figure (Jack) who must undergo the Hero’s Journey to rescue the damsel in distress (Lili) from the Big Bad (Darkness), who wants to plunge the world into literal darkness. This stale premise is injected with nuance and thrill by of two notable performances — an electric Sara who invests Lili’s moral corruption with an emotional edge, and Curry, whose horned, cloven-hooved Darkness is pure camp excellence.
Despite taking a rather simplistic approach to the genre, Scott’s fairy tale is anxiety-inducing at times, as its nightmarish aesthetics mirror some of the unexplored implications of the central tale. For example, a hypnotic scene unfolds when Lili dances with her shadow, symbolizing a mad dance with her own inner demons. She undergoes a “Black Swan”-esque transformation soon after, hinting at a moral complexity that unfortunately is never allowed to bloom. Curry’s Darkness oozes self-assured sensuality, which is deliberately contrasted against Jack’s naivety as a “pure being” (whatever that means). But Cruise’s Jack is too dull and devoid of interiority for us to care about these distinctions, which remain half-baked on a thematic level.
If you’re fond of wondrous visual overindulgence (or Cruise donning armor made with flattened bottle caps!), then Scott’s “Legend” is the perfect dark fantasy world to escape into.
“Legend” is currently streaming on Prime Video.
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Read the original article on SlashFilm.
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