trjash The Krays, 1960's London, the implosion of Ronald, Reginald and company. So what could go wrong with such a platform to build and craft a wealth of scenes? It would appear much. The Rise of the Krays (albeit lacking in substance) had the ability to keep the viewer (at least) wondering where the next scene might come from. Sadly, The Fall of the Krays comes with no such hook to grab the attention. The acting is mediocre at best. In fact the only consistent character is Frances' Mum played by Clare McGlinn. There seems to be an ongoing and unnecessary need for the actors to try and portray the twins like like they were Phil and Grant Mitchel. Overreacting, overacting and not at all believable; the company they keep much the same. If you're after a quick hit of good old-fashioned violence, mockney accents and loads of shouting after a few pints down the pub, this one's for you. If you want a little more then give Legend a go with Tom Hardy. It's more believable in half the time. If you want to watch a film about the Krays with the Mrs and you're a newby then give the Kemp boys a whirl. Not the best.

Leofwine_draca THE FALL OF THE KRAYS is the sequel to THE RISE OF THE KRAYS and another low rent slice of British crime. These two films are B-movie retellings of the famous Kray story, released to cash in on the renewed popularity of the storyline following in the wake of the Tom Hardy film LEGEND. These B-movies are huge disappointments, failing to offer up anything new and also failing to convince in the process. There are barely any outdoor sequences because the budget didn't stretch to much in the way of 1960s-era authenticity, and all of the set locations look bare and fake. The no-name cast fail to pass muster and the two actors playing Reggie and Ronnie fail to look like them and fail to give worthwhile performances too. They're also way too young. The script is below par and offers some really embarrassing trite dialogue along the way. For my money, the Martin/Gary Kemp version of the story is still the definitive version to go for.

princesscyanide This movie,back to back with the first half of their story(The Rise Of The Krays) immediately makes it clear that 2 hours is not enough to tell the story of the UK ganglands' most (in)famous sons.It dares to tread new ground previously avoided in The Krays(1990) and Legend(2015),exploring the stories of the messy business of the disappearance of Frank'The Mad Axeman'Mitchell and 'Mad'Teddy Smith.Clearly having Mad in your nickname was a dangerous situation if you were an associate of the Krays.The storyline itself is well presented,albeit with an obviously low budget which,in this telling,actually works quite well,giving this dark period in British history the gritty feel that Legend put too much of a sheen on.In some places though,the acting is cringeworthy.George Cornell delivers the legendary line,"You fat poof",with all the menace of a sulky teenager,and the fact that the actor playing him is carrying a few extra pounds,while the target of his jibe doesn't have an ounce of fat out of place,had this viewer laughing at the exchange,and half-expecting Ron to jibe back"Well,you're fatter than me,George!".That said,the actor playing Cornell certainly looked like the real person.Frankie Fraser has also mutated from a small,slightly built cockney wideboy into a hulking,imposing thug.Jack McVitie also seems to have been reinvented as Jack the occasional hat,as he is more often seen sans his trademark trilby hat,and despite a rather cheesy delivery in the shotgun scene,the actor playing Jack delivers an engaging performance,with the merest hint of comedy during his opening scene.Kevin Leslie as Reg is largely a support character to Simon Cottons' Ron,and while they have been criticised for not looking alike,I don't think thats too much of a factor.The Kemps didn't look alike either and they ARE brothers.Ron sometimes comes across as a pantomime baddie,with Reg as a brow-beaten subordinate,but many reports suggest that isn't too far from the truth.Leslies performance is just a little too likable for a legendary gangster.He just doesn't have the sinister air about him.And once again,older brother Charlie seems to have been stricken from the Kray family history.I don't think this movie is what you could class as 'enjoyable',given the subject matter,but,arguably,it can definitely be labelled as interesting.What it doesn't do is paint them as the legendary heroes that history so often seems to do these days.It is definitely different from the 1990 movie,which I believe was made long before it should have been,with the Sheas becoming the Lawsons,the Richardsons becoming the Pelhams,the Lambrianous becoming the Ripleys, Jimmy'Cannonball'Lee getting drunk,and Cornell and Jack the Hat being murdered on the same night.And of course it differs widely from the big-budget 'Legend',which,while being peppered with some hilarious scenes,albeit unintentionally funny in places,is also peppered with falsehoods,errors,and blatant lies in places.and Ron Kray seemingly turned into Eric Morecambe for inspiration.There are many reasons not to like FOTK.Probably more than there are to like it,but if you forgive the odd ropey acting turn,and you have a curiosity to see various legendary events from the Twins career finally being played out,then this movie is for you.If,however,you know nothing about them,and have no desire to,then maybe Legend would suit you more.As a movie,Legend beats ROTK and FOTK hands down.But as a biopic this 2-parter wins out.

Neil Grant Both of these films were dreadful. In the 2nd film when Cornell got shot by Ron where was the jukebox the sun ain't gonna shine anymore was playing when that happened but not in the film. The boys who played them were awful never looked like the twins at all. I have followed the twins and worked alongside Charlie Kray. I knew the krays through writing to them . I have read the books. Maybe the person who did this film should have done the same. NOT A PATCH ON TOM HARDY'S VERSION WHICH IS THE BEST EVER KRAY FILM. If you think different fair enough but everyone has there right to have an opinion and that is my total opinion. I thought the original Kray film was good but Tom Hardy is the best by far