Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

Legend

Play trailer Poster for Legend PG Released Jan 16, 1985 1h 29m Fantasy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
41% Tomatometer 46 Reviews 73% Popcornmeter 100,000+ Ratings
Darkness (Tim Curry) seeks to create eternal night by destroying the last of the unicorns. Jack (Tom Cruise) and his friends do everything possible to save the world and Princess Lili (Mia Sara) from the hands of Darkness. Enter a world of unicorns, magic swamps, dwarfs and rainbows.
Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

Legend

Legend

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Not even Ridley Scott's gorgeously realized set pieces can save Legend from its own tawdry tale -- though it may be serviceable for those simply looking for fantasy eye candy.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (46) Critics Reviews
Kevin Thomas Los Angeles Times Legend is not without whimsical touches, but it surely could have used more humor and invention. Mar 27, 2019 Full Review Jay Boyar Orlando Sentinel You are caught up in a morality play... the deepest significance of which the makers of this PG movie are apparently betting the adolescents of America will instinctively comprehend. Mar 27, 2019 Full Review Gene Siskel Chicago Tribune I don't want to remember any more about Legend than to make sure I include it in my ''worst films of 1986'' list and never rent it when it comes out as a video cassette. Rated: 0.5/4 Mar 27, 2019 Full Review Martin Carr CBR Don't let the rotten rating fool you, Legend is a cult classic with more than enough to entertain above and beyond Tim Curry's extreme makeover. This is an arthouse indulgence from Ridley Scott that may feature Tom Cruise, but still manages to impress. Apr 20, 2024 Full Review Kathy Fennessy Seattle Film Blog Though Legend may never achieve full-on classic motion picture status, the more fleshed-out director's cut proves that Ridley Scott's lovingly-crafted fairytale always deserved better than it got from both film critics and paying audiences alike. Rated: 3/4 Sep 12, 2023 Full Review James Olsen Starburst Legend remains a stunning faerie floss fantasy. Ninety-five minutes of lovingly crafted, 'super real' escapism. Jul 22, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (1000+) audience reviews
Jolin S I absolutely loved this movie. Special effects are magnificent. Ignore all the bad reviews. If you enjoy this kind of fantasy, good vs evil, movies you will thoroughly enjoy and appreciate watching it. So often these so called critics forget that just because they do not enjoy this genre they criticize the movies causing people to miss out on their favorite kind of movies like Legend. So don’t be afraid. Watch it and enjoy it as I did. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/05/25 Full Review Natasha R This has been on my list for almost two decades before I finally watched it (the director’s cut), and let me tell you, I was beyond disappointed. The good: The story is fine, the casting is great, the makeup is superb (except they could have done more for Lily in my opinion) the set is beautiful. The bad: The pacing is slow and jumbled which takes you out of the story a bit. I could have used more from Mia. I found her performance flat, which I know from Ferris Bueller she can be great, so that leads me to believe it was due to directing. Editing…oof. The constant zoom in on the faces throughout the film made it hard to enjoy what was happening in the scene. I get that it can be used to focus on the emotion but it got old real quick and was done so many times where a regularly framed shot would have conveyed much more to the viewer. It really disappointed me because I wanted so much to love this film and have it be an immediate favorite of mine, however, it was quite the opposite. I don’t know if that was editing or directing but either way I absolutely hated the overuse of frame zoom. I am sad it didn’t live up my expectations but I may give the regular non director’s cut a try and see if that helps the main issues I had with it. All in all I say give it a shot because the cast alone is filled with amazing names. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 12/25/24 Full Review Gemma D Such a magical and welcome walk down memory lane. As an 80s child, films like this were our bread and butter. Fully recommend to anyone wanting to escape to a by gone era for some amazing cinema. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/18/24 Full Review Audience Member it was a classic even before I was born [87] and I love the film, however the DC suffers a horrifically bad soundtrack--the Tangerine Dream soundtrack is EASILY the obvious winner between the films two versions, so if you watch it watch the US theatrical release. Tim Curry is mythic in his role as Darkness and Tom Cruise as always, never disappoints. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/01/24 Full Review Graham G Out of all the fantasy films I’ve seen, I find it to have the most magnificent special effects. I would strongly recommend that people watch the director’s cut version of it, because the dialogue is a lot more poor in the theatrical version. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/02/25 Full Review Paul H Most 1980s fantasy movies are terrible, this is shocking it may be the worst of them all, on every level this is a terrible movie, the story, the script, the make up, the acting, the production it's genuinely terribly bad. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 09/01/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Legend

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Legend

View more videos
Masters of the Universe 21% 41% Masters of the Universe Watchlist The Navigator 88% 78% The Navigator Watchlist Time Bandits 91% 77% Time Bandits Watchlist Mannequin: On the Move 12% 40% Mannequin: On the Move Watchlist Labyrinth 77% 86% Labyrinth Watchlist TRAILER for Labyrinth Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis Darkness (Tim Curry) seeks to create eternal night by destroying the last of the unicorns. Jack (Tom Cruise) and his friends do everything possible to save the world and Princess Lili (Mia Sara) from the hands of Darkness. Enter a world of unicorns, magic swamps, dwarfs and rainbows.
Director
Ridley Scott
Producer
Arnon Milchan
Screenwriter
William Hjortsberg
Distributor
Universal Pictures
Production Co
Universal Pictures, Embassy International Pictures
Rating
PG
Genre
Fantasy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 16, 1985, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 3, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$12.3M
Runtime
1h 29m
Sound Mix
Magnetic Stereo 6 Track, Dolby Stereo, Surround
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
Most Popular at Home Now