Hands of Stone (2016) Movie Review

Hands of Stone – Movie Review

Director: Jonathan Jakubowicz

Writer: Jonathan Jakubowicz (Screenplay)

Starring: Edgar Ramirez, Usher, Robert De Niro, Ruben Blades, Ana de Armas, Pedro Perez, John Turturro

Plot: The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other’s lives.

Tagline – No mas. No surrender.

Runtime: 1 Hour 51 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Hands of Stone starts when famed boxing trainer Ray Arcel (De Niro) takes on a new Panamanian boxer Roberto Duran (Ramirez). Who has built up an impressive record because of how hard his has found his life and a rage against America.

When Roberto earns a world title match, he defeats Sugar Ray Leonard (Usher) which will put him on another level for the sport one he struggles to cope with. Before learning how important his position in the boxing world will be for Panama.

Thoughts on Hands of Stone

Hands of Stone is a biopic looking at the career of boxer Roberto Duran. Through the eyes of his legendary trainer Ray Arcel as both men would create history for their achievements in the sport. While this does have an important message about what was achieved. A lot of the history will need to be looked up to understand certain parts of what is going on.

While Roberto might well be considered one of the greatest of all time, he might not be a name you have heard of either. Which makes it hard to understand everything that is going on. We do have good performances from the whole cast, with Edgar Ramirez bring the boxer himself to life. When it comes to the boxing, not everything feels as smooth as it could be either. Making this an easy to watch, but not as informative history lesson.

Final Thoughts – Hands of Stone is an easy to watch sports drama, not getting the message through enough.