Tom Cruise’s movie stardom has existed for decades, but in the last ten-ish years of pop culture, his reputation has become even greater than that. He’s been known as “the mayor of movies” or the very face of cinema itself, thanks to his commitment to staggeringly large blockbusters and the theatrical experience in the 2020s. Despite the man’s seemingly ceaseless ubiquity, though, certain Cruise movies tend to slip through the cracks in modern discussions.
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Specifically, his non-Risky Business works before 1986’s Top Gun tend to get no real love from either film geeks or general audiences. That very much includes the 1985 fantasy title Legend, which hails from director Ridley Scott and also starred Tim Curry and Mia Sara. Though relatively forgotten today, Legend deserves a second wave of appreciation, even if its leading man wasn’t always in the headlines.
What Exactly Is Legend?
Most of Cruise’s 21st-century movies (save for the occasional sci-fi yarn like Minority Report, Oblivion, or Edge of Tomorrow) are set in distinctly modern, grounded confines. The stunts are extraordinary in Top Gun: Maverick or a Mission: Impossible outing, but the worlds they inhabit could be outside your window. Legend is a grand departure from that, with William Hjortsberg’s script being a classical fairy tale set in a magical forest realm far removed from everyday life. This is where the lead character, Jack (Cruise), is called upon to save Princess Lili (Sara) from the Lord of “Darkness” (Curry) and save the world in the process.
Legend was one of many costly fantasy films that just didn’t take off with audiences in the mid-to-late-80s, alongside The Black Cauldron, Willow, and Return to Oz (plus 1981’s Dragonslayer). The tastes of audiences were more centered on Rambo and Back to the Future in this era, rather than swords and sorcery. Not being alone in its financial struggles didn’t provide much comfort for Legend’s financiers, which invested $25 million in a costly tentpole that only reached $23.5 million at the global box office. Cruise’s subsequent moneymakers like Top Gun would only highlight the feature’s financial shortcomings.
It’s a shame audiences didn’t turn out in droves to see Legend in its initial theatrical run, considering the immense cult following it has developed in the years that have followed. Much of that following has understandably focused on the tremendous practical effects work used to bring this fantasy world and its inhabitants to life. Tired of sterile digital effects wizardry in modern blockbusters? Legend and the painstaking practical techniques used to manifest the unbelievable are an exquisite antidote.
Tim Curry Steals the Show In Legend
One reason Legend may not come up much in modern discussions about Tom Cruise cinema is that he’s very much playing a classical hero archetype that gets overshadowed by the film’s big scene-stealer: Tim Curry. When you’re done watching Legend, chances are Cruise isn’t the actor you’re talking about. Instead, it’s Curry and his unbelievable ability to chew up all the scenery and exude such a captivating personality in one of the most infamously uncomfortable monster costumes ever created. It’s a tour de force performance proving why Curry is beloved for his wacky villain turns.
Just beholding Curry excelling in his gifts within extraordinary makeup effects is enough to make Legend worth a watch. However, there’s also the fact that it’s realized through the lens of Ridley Scott, a master filmmaker in the prime of his gifts here. While several modern Scott blockbusters, like Exodus: Gods and Kings, feel phoned-in visually, Scott’s direction in Legend has been widely lauded as critical to making the project emotionally engaging. Though he got put on the map for his work realizing terrifying, dark sci-fi horror in Alien, Scott’s also skilled at executing fantasy wonders in Legend.
On top of all that, something is fascinating about watching Cruise exist in these confines, still so nascent in his movie star career. Top Gun would change things so dramatically for Cruise that it’s somewhat surreal to watch a pre-1986 title like Legend entirely devoid of any of that movie’s influences. While the production aims to be a timeless fairy tale exercise, that quality firmly roots Legend into mid-80s pop culture in a compelling fashion. Even if Cruise isn’t the most memorable aspect of the enterprise, Legend’s esteemed reputation means it’s well worth getting renewed attention.
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