Legacy

For a film with such a paper-thin premise, Legacy is a surprisingly enjoyable watch. Davie Fairbanks and Marc Small share their directorial debut in this urban teenage romp that follows five school kids’ efforts to establish their own London nightclub. Noel Clarke’s influence as producer is very clear, as the core character dynamics and overall struggle of the protagonists are very Kidulthood-esque in style, albeit far less gritty. Far, far less gritty. Overall, it caters for its target audience very well but offers nothing more.

Aside from its jarringly unbelievable premise, the main problems with this film stem from its one-dimensional characters, stereotyped to the point that they become non-existent. In fact, it would be surprising if their character profiles were developed to any greater depth than sombre leader, fat one, smart one, sassy one and clown. However, what this film isn’t lacking is a plethora of jokes that come thick and fast, often adding nothing to the plot, but enjoyable nonetheless. McKell David, playing the character PJ, very much steals the show and is the vehicle for 90 percent of the film’s comedy. Unfortunately, his overt teenage horniness and hilarious candour become predictable and, like the film itself, wear thin towards the end. 

One thing this film will not be accused of is being too prudish. Graphically sexual at times, the film has two main focuses and they are both just below the neckline, yet while the nudity in this film very much centres around the female form, it should not be said that it shuns the occasional penis.

Unfortunately, the film’s initially strong momentum is lost towards the end of its lengthy conclusion at an impressively orchestrated warehouse rave. It is clear that the high production value of this finale was a heavy influence on its editing process, the reluctance to cut this expensive footage making it twice as long as it needed to be. However – that being said – it does entertain. In fact, this closing sequence very well encapsulates the tone of the whole film, fun, titillating and enjoyable but, overall, too insubstantial to be distinguished as excellent. 

Joel Stern 

Legacy is released nationwide on 25^th June 2015. 

Watch the trailer for Legacy here: