Movie Review: ‘Hands of Stone’

“Raging Bull” remains the standard for all boxing films. “Cinderella Man” was another all-time classic, and the “Rocky” series is beloved by fans the world over. Now, a new contender waits in the shadows. How does “Hands of Stone” stack up against its predecessors? It’s safe to say that a biopic on the life of Panamanian legend Roberto Duran was a worthwhile endeavor.

Edgar Ramirez portrays Duran and by all accounts does a fantastic job. While he won’t ever be confused as Duran’s twin, Ramirez went to great lengths to learn how to move like the hall of famer inside the ring. Director Jonathan Jakubowicz brought Duran and his story to life, but the film missed several key punches along the way.

While screen icon Robert De Niro was expectedly solid as trainer Ray Arcel, the man who helped guide Duran to greatness, Jakubowicz seemed to go out of his way to make his side of the story closely resemble that of every other manager/trainer in every other boxing movie. His ties to the mob, his attempted murder and his banishment from the sport were all actual events, but the way they unfolded in “Hands of Stone” came off as hokey and cliché.

The fight scenes can only be described as Hollywood garden variety: loud, with obnoxious sound effects and wild action. Thankfully, none of the sequences were anywhere near as ridiculous as those in the “Rocky” series, but sometimes the amount of punches thrown and how they landed were a little over the top. I suppose that’s to be expected.

The one major sticking point working against “Hands of Stone” is the buildup to the infamous “No Mas” fight in which Duran quit in the eighth round of his November 1980 rematch with archrival “Sugar” Ray Leonard. Hip-hop star Usher Raymond plays Leonard. Jakubowicz did excellent work building up Duran’s story, chronicling his struggles and Panama and highlighting the hostility with Leonard. However, almost as soon as Ramirez’s character quits in the ring, the film seems to rush towards its conclusion.

“Hands of Stone” touched on how Duran’s life nearly spiraled out of control and how virtually everyone turned against him, but it quickly shifted to his redemption bout with Davey Moore in 1983. In the process, it skipped over six fights, including those against WBC light middleweight champion Wilfred Benitez and future hall of famer Pipino Cuevas. With that said, the film ends on a typically glorious note, with Duran conquering Moore and becoming a hero again. However, the famous glove-lacing to Moore’s face was omitted from their match.

In summation, “Hands of Stone” is a solid boxing move, largely because Ramirez does such a fantastic job as Duran. He did justice to the man some consider to be the greatest lightweight in history. Beyond Ramirez and Raymond, Ana de Armas portrays Duran’s wife, Felicidad Iglesias. The beautiful Cuban actress oftentimes steals the show with her stunning good looks and acting ability. Considering the length of Duran’s career, his story might have been better served as a long-running Showtime or HBO series. Much was left on the cutting room floor.

As a diehard boxing fan and historian of the sport, I found “Hands of Stone” to be a competent if not outstanding film. It’s worth a watch. It fell short of “The Fighter,” “Cinderella Man” and “Raging Bull,” but it will go down as a worthy addition to your Sweet Science movie collection.