Legend

Year of Release:  2015
Director:  Brian Helgeland
Screenplay:  Brian Helgeland, based on the book A Profession of Violence by John Pearson
Starring:  Tom Hardy, Emily Browning, David Thewlis, Christopher Eccleston, Chazz Palminteri
Taron Egerton
Running Time:  131 minutes
Genre:  biography, drama, crime, gangster

This tells the story of the life and career of the notorious Kray twins, who ruled London organised crime in the 1960s.  Reggie Kray (Hardy) is suave, charismatic, intelligent and volatile, while Ronnie Kray (Hardy again) is a brutal psychopath.  The film mixes the story of the rise of the Krays criminal empire, with Reggie's relationship with Frances Shea (Browning), who narrates the film.

This is a fairly average gangster movie.  It's enjoyable enough, but it feels as if it's trying to pack too much into an, admittedly generous, running time.  Tom Hardy is brilliant as both Reggie and Ronnie, the scene where they have a long fight is a highlight, however there is no way to engage with either of them, and you never really find out anything more about either of them than you do in the opening scene.  Emily Browning gives a good performance, providing the emotional core of the film as the unfortunate Frances Shea, although her breathless, romantic narration seems very out of place.  I don't know enough about the Krays to comment on how accurate or not the film is, but as a gangster film it is entertaining, and never gets dull throughout it's running time, with several scenes of brutal violence punctuating the tale.

      
Ronnie and Reggie Kray (Tom Hardy) in Legend

Wonder Woman

Year of Release:  2017
Director:  Patty Jenkins
Screenplay:  Allan Heinberg, from a story by Zack Snyder, Allan Heinberg and Jason Fuchs, based on Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston
Starring:  Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Connie Nielsen, David Thewlis, Danny Huston, Elena Anaya
Running Time:  141 minutes
Genre:  Superhero, fantasy, action-adventure, war

The hidden island of Themyscira is the home of the Amazons, warrior women who, according to legend, have been charged by Zeus to guard against the return of the war god Ares.  However the idyllic island life is shattered when American pilot Steve Trevor (Pine) crashes off the coast.  Trevor is rescued by Diana (Gadot), the daughter of the island's ruler, Queen Hippolyta (Wright).  In the world outside, World War I is raging, and Trevor reveals that he is a spy, who is trying to return to London with information about an experimental weapon that brutal General Erich Ludendorff (Huston) and scientist Doctor Maru (Anaya) have developed.  Convinced that Ares is behind the "War to End All Wars", Diana resolves to return with Trevor to find and defeat him, believing that this will end the war and restore world peace.  However she soon learns that things are not that simple.

This film is notable to be the first major superhero film to centre on a female character and the first to be directed by a woman.  Gadot debuted as Wonder Woman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), and this movie is part of a linked series of films based on DC Comics characters, however aside for a brief framing sequence set in the present day, this isn't really connected to any of the previous films, and so can be enjoyed by people who haven't sat through the other DC movies.  The film mixes fantasy, period war film and some culture clash comedy, and works very well.  Gal Gadot is perfect as Wonder Woman, not only handling the action sequences but also a strong emotional arch, and Chris Pine also does well as the square-jawed Steve Trevor.  The film has an emotional core that is often lacking in superhero films, and, while there is a lot of darkness in the film, it leavens the often Bergmanesque levels of despair in the DC movies with a welcome level of hope and optimism.  Certainly this is one of the best of the recent glut of superhero films.

Gal Gadot is Wonder Woman