In Defense Of: “Legend” (1985)

Tom Cruise Is Super Charming And Pulls Off His Heroic Turn With Aplomb

Slotting in-between his more well-known 1983 rom-com Risky Business and 1986’s uber iconic Top Gun, Cruise dipped his toe into the fantasy genre with Scott’s gothic fairy tale. Playing a Mowgli-esque doe-eyed forest dweller, replete with a mass of dishevelled bangs, Tom Cruise’s Jack is a classical young hero-to-be with little experience as a full-on warrior.

Jack is essentially an everyman — or more accurately, an everyboy — type of character. He’s noticeably youthful, with an air of innocence and virtue that is only matched by his love interest, Princess Lili. Despite his idealised, sugary sweet persona, Cruise’s top-notch charisma helps breathe life into the character and injects some charming warmth into the overall mix. On the whole, Cruise may not steal the show completely (Sorry Tom, but that award goes to Tim Curry), but his heroic turn is still another good reason to check out Scott’s critically derided classical fantasy fairy tale, Legend.