We discuss 10 movies like Legend you must watch. Add these well-recommended and highly-rated films to your watch list.
There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Tom Hardy is an incredibly gifted actor because of how calming his presence is on screen. Hardy brings this level of cool with every character he plays, even before he’s about to snap at anyone.
Whenever there is a dual role for any actor, it’s mostly a challenge, but the most talented are able to give you different sides of the same coin. In Legend, Hardy plays Reginald and Ronald Kray, identical twin gangsters (with different tempers) who terrorize London during the 1960s.
The films listed below have obscure dual roles, some intense gangster stories, and some pretty incredible casting to bring these stories to the forefront. All of the films listed below have intricate stories and great performances by everyone in the cast.
They are action-packed and will suck you into their world.
10 Movies like Legend
Face/Off (1997)
There are films that have such a unique concept, and John Woo directed one of the most obscure films ever. Nicolas Cage and John Travolta don’t really look similar when you first look at them, but after watching Face/Off, you’ll start to see the similarities.
To foil a terrorist plot, an FBI agent assumes the identity of the criminal who murdered his son through facial transplant surgery, but the crook wakes up prematurely and vows revenge.
The Departed (2006)
The masterful Martin Scorsese finally won the Oscar for Best Director for The Departed. It is definitely one of his best films, but it’s hard to even narrow down what his best films are. This was loosely based on a Hong Kong action thriller starring Tony Leung called Infernal Affairs, which was a big hit in 2002.
Gangster Squad (2013)
In 1949 Los Angeles, the city was run by gangsters and a malicious mobster, Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn). Determined to end the corruption, John O’Mara assembles a team of cops, ready to take down the ruthless leader and restore peace to the city. In case you didn’t know, this was the second outing for the pair of Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone.
The two of them worked on Crazy, Stupid, Love and La La Land — their chemistry was natural, and both worked well together.
The Krays (1990)
If you are interested in Ronald and Reginald Kray after watching Tom Hardy’s performance in Legend, then you have to understand just how brutal these twins were. This biopic is a face-based film that follows the life of the twin crime lords in London’s ’60s underworld.
Dom Hemingway (2013)
This film has Jude Law like you’ve never seen him before. After spending 12 years in prison for keeping his mouth shut, notorious safe-cracker Dom Hemingway is back on the streets of London looking to collect what he’s owed. This is a dark comedy that does not pull its punches, and Law is completely off his rocker, delivering one of his best performances.
In Bruges (2008)
Before The Banshees of Inisherin, director Martin McDonagh had worked with Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell. Guilt-stricken after a job gone wrong, hitman Ray and his partner await orders from their ruthless boss in Bruges, Belgium, the last place in the world Ray wants to be.
Layer Cake (2004)
If you didn’t know who Daniel Craig was before James Bond, this film is most definitely the reason why he was cast. Director Matthew Vaughn knows how to throw an action film together, and people saw how talented he was in the early 2000s. A successful cocaine dealer gets two tough assignments from his boss on the eve of his planned early retirement.
This was action-packed with an intricate story that took place in a short amount of time.
American Gangster (2007)
Director Ridley Scott took a stab at the crime drama in 2007 with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe in American Gangster. An outcast New York City cop is charged with bringing down Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas, whose real life inspired this partly biographical film.
Capone (2020)
After the fiasco with Josh Trank and his Fantastic Four film, Capone became a passion project for him. After 10 years in prison, 47-year-old Al Capone (Tom Hardy) starts to suffer from dementia and comes to be haunted by his violent past.
The Gentlemen (2019)
Guy Ritchie was on a roll after Man from UNCLE, delivering some pretty great action films and one Disney film. Aladdin was such a success for Ritchie that it made audiences appreciate the work that he had done his entire career. Then enters The Gentlemen with a stacked cast and a fun premise. An American expat tries to sell off his highly profitable marijuana empire in London, triggering plots, schemes, bribery, and blackmail in an attempt to steal his domain from under him.
Do you have any other recommendations for movies like Legend? Let us know in the comments.
