The Notorious True Story Of Reg And Ron Kray Twins Crime Empire.

It Is On Amazon Prime

Who are Reginald And Ronald Kray?

They are the Kray Twins: In the 2015 film Legend, it tells the story/’legend’ of the Kray twins Crime Empire. They were identical twins who arguably ruled London’s criminal underground in the early 1960s. Some dispute this, but they were able to take advantage of the fall of the Richardson Gang to leave their natural East End territory and take on other parts of London.

The Kray Twins Crime Empire will certainly never be forgotten.

They were iconic and easy to glamorise. Look at the image above of photographer David Bailey’s Kray Twins, and you will know what I mean. You want to know more, don’t you? You are naturally a bit scared of them but intrigued. Far more intimidating than the film publicity poster.

Incidentally, Ron is the one at the front, with the hair brylcreamed back and Reg is the one with the side parting.

The Krays were ‘legitimate businessmen’ who indulged in criminal gangster activities and legitimate businesses. Reggie was the more business-inclined of the two, while Ron preferred Gangster criminal activities.

Note: Ron was a violent paranoid Schizophrenic. One could say he was a bad influence, driven by his desires and delusions.

In the film, both roles are played by Tom Hardy, who portrays them effectively with different personalities. Ron is Ron, and Reg is Reg. Due to Hardys skill as an actor you can tell who is who. On set, he could change pitch and character without any problem and the cinema goer/Netflix viewer can easily tell each individual apart..

Spoilers

Like all gangsters and gangsters, the police caught up with them both. Ron was mentally unstable and left criminal traces of himself all around. Reg, who would generally clear up around Ron by intimidation. After Reg was arrested for the murder of Jack ‘The Hat’ McVittie, with many witnesses the empire ended. Without Reg, Ron had nobody to look after him, and he would be returned to the secure psychiatric ward due to his activities and his violent inclinations.

What did I think?

I love this film. There are so many memorable bits. Some say it glamorises what were a couple of thugs. They probably were. But they were identical twins; they were big, strong, and to be honest, what is not to like about a gangster film?

The fights were well-choreographed. The fact that two people played by one man could not ‘look shit’ is also to the director’s credit and CGI.

Whether it was up there with The Gangs Of New York or Reservoir Dogs is up for debate. But this is good as they were English. They were our gangsters!

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