Legend

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Legend

PG

1986

1h 29m

Fantasy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

34%

Tomatometer

109 Reviews

73%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Darkness seeks to create eternal night by destroying the last of the unicorns. Jack and his friends do everything possible to save the world and Princess Lily from the hands of Darkness. Entering a world of unicorns, magic swamps, dwarfs and rainbows.

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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.

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Louis B. Parks

Houston Chronicle

Apr 18, 2026

Legend dares to be different. Audacious, silly and exciting, it goes strange places in a way few modern films risk. Most of the trip is fun.

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Eric Shorter

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Apr 18, 2026

[Legend] manages to merge every sort of nursery myth with every sort of cinematic trick to catch the eye. The make-up and the special effects are dazzling.

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Michael Healy

Denver Post

Apr 18, 2026

Perhaps it has not been conveyed how utterly boring this movie is, how devoid of cleverness, of characterization, plot and theme.

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Josh Larsen

LarsenOnFilm

Aug 29, 2026

2.5/4

... something of an Adam and Eve rock video (Tangerine Dream did the score), set in a land that J.R.R. Tolkien forgot.

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Bob Campbell

Arizona Daily Star

Apr 18, 2026

Legend is a triumph of rococo style with moments of incomparable film magic, but it dies of oxygen-starvation. It winds up as the most expensive department store window display in history.

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Noel Taylor

Ottawa Citizen

Apr 18, 2026

Legend tries, with all the guile that Ridley Scott commands, to be an occasion for wonderment. What it turns out to be is a monument to artifice, with all the immobility that that implies.

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Angelique T

@RT64568713 Oct 28, 2026

Who do I have to talk to to get this movie re-released back into theaters

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R B

@rrb82 Oct 15, 2026

This is a classic movie. Any one who denies this, likely has no heart.

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Neve M

@TrippyLifeMe2 Oct 9, 2026

For its time and still to this date, I think this movie is great tf. I mean look at the make-up. the prosthetics! On all the evil characters. Meg isn’t even a real person lol, she’s an animatronic! Compared to what we have out today lol please. How many hours that must have taken. This film deserves more credit than it’s been given, but I love the whimsical fairytale good vs evil. This films decades old and still better than a lot of the trash I’ve seen in the cinemas today.

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Kevin R

@Kevin199 Oct 7, 2026

Atrocious acting, cringe-worthy dialogue, insanely loud, cliche plot, obvious fake snow, and sluggish pacing make this fairy tale fantasy film a dull misfire. Tom Cruise and Mia Sara had no chemistry. Easily Tom Cruise’s worst performance by a landslide. Mia Sara’s worst performance too. It’s not entirely bad as there are good things about it such as Tim Curry, the special effects, the gorgeous visuals, and the set design. This movie is boring. Can’t stand some of the singing in the American version with the Tangerine Dream score. The singing is ear is ear torture in the American version. I honestly prefer the European cut with Jerry Goldsmith’s score, but the European cut has terrible pacing. Tom Cruise and Mia Sara’s corny acting is on the same level as kids acting in a middle school play. The dialogue is so unnatural and even worse than the dialogue in the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy. No real human talks like anyone in this movie. Tim Curry is the one true saving grace in this.

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Brendan D

@ConnecticutComicFan203 Sep 9, 2026

Legend is whimsical, surreal, and even nightmarish at times and Tim Curry is on point playing Darkness. He scared the crap out of me as a kid with that unbelievable costume and the gigantic horns. In my opinion, Ridley Scott knocked it out of the park with this gem.

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Ari V

@RT59419633 Aug 31, 2026

3.25/5 for some strangely resonant elements despite its fluffiness.

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Ridley Scott

Director

Tom Cruise

Jack

Mia Sara

Princess Lily

Tim Curry

Darkness

David Bennent

Gump

Alice Playten

Blix

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Synopsis

Darkness seeks to create eternal night by destroying the last of the unicorns. Jack and his friends do everything possible to save the world and Princess Lily from the hands of Darkness. Entering 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): Apr 18, 1986, Original
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)

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