Thursday, September 30, 2010

"Legend"

1985, directed by Ridley Scott

LEGEND, a dark fairy tale, was one of those movies i'd always heard about, but never got around to seeing. If you're in the same boat, it's not a boat you have to leave. I do recommend that every film student be required to view it, however, for a humbling lesson in how a film that has everything can simply...not work. LEGEND receives my nomination for the most almost-towering dud ever. You'll scratch your head for weeks, trying to figure out what went wrong.
The version i'm talking about is the 2002 director's cut. The original theatrical release was supposedly flat-out bad. The director in question? Ridley Scott, whose previous two offerings had been ALIEN and BLADE RUNNER. The production values are wondrous, the writing well-crafted, the acting excellent. A young Tom Cruise gives an unaffected, heroic performance. Mia Sara gives a dual performance at once so pure and so corrupted, you'll cry at the thought of the Van Damme eye candy she ended up as. And at the center, Tim Curry as the Prince of Darkness. This should have been the role of his lifetime, and he nailed it.
With all that, how could it have missed? But it did...you walk away feeling dulled and leaden.
Was it the editing? Gremlins, perhaps?
Tell me...

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