By Paul Hall
It takes a unique individual to step into a boxing ring and be willing to dole out the type of punishment needed to win. He or she must not only be able to dish it out, but also be willing to absorb the hellfire of an opponent. Hands of Stone examines Roberto Durán’s (Edgar Ramírez) career from a difficult beginning to the top of the boxing world before tumbling as low as one fighter could. And maybe, just maybe, back to respectability.
Raised in the streets of Panama, Durán fought for everything. He was hungry. As a boy, his literal hunger forced him to steal food for his family to eat; as he grew, that hunger manifested in the drive to become a world champion. His anger is fuel that explodes in the ring throughout his fighting career, especially when an American is in the other corner. Durán’s father was an American who left him at a young age, and the fighter despises the United States occupation of the Panama Canal territory. Naturally, when American trainer Ray Arcel (Robert De Niro) comes out of retirement to train him, his answer is, of course, no.
Cooler heads eventually prevail and the legendary Arcel avoids the influence of the mob, which drove him from the fight game years earlier, and takes Durán through the paces as he begins his fight career in earnest.
A parallel story peers into Durán’s personal life with his wife and children. The courtship, which would best be described as a mimic of his confidence in the ring, ends with him getting the girl and starting a life together. He has a mentor who has been with him since his youth, a manager who brought in Arcel to take him to the next level, and a longtime trainer that wants the best for Durán. With a jam-packed personal life, a vendetta against anything American and a legendary trainer at his side, Durán’s journey is something for the cameras to see.
Unfortunately, despite an amazingly compelling story of a man who rose from nothing to be the most famous individual in his country, we are presented with a film that just feels lost. Maybe it is the fact that there are so many compelling aspects of Durán’s life that writer/director Jonathan Jakubowicz is forced to pick and choose, and he just doesn’t do a great job with it. This should be a very good film, but instead it is average at best.
De Niro is serviceable but underutilized as Arcel, Ana de Armas has flashes of a solid performance and then disappears, and Ramirez doesn’t shine through the messy script.
I’m a boxing fan. As a young boy, I watched Durán, the rise of Sugar Ray Leonard and the Leonard/Durán battles with a great deal of interest. They were fascinating fights that seemed to tell a magical story of two fighters at the top of their game. There is more to the story than meets the eye and we get exposure to some of that here, but unfortunately we skip over so many details that the film plays like a boxer who’s been jabbed one too many times.
Hands of Stone has an interesting premise. I would read a book about Roberto Durán. I cannot, unfortunately, recommend heading out to this film. However, if you do go, this one will definitely be decided by decision, as there is no knockout in sight.
Hands of Stone
Rated: R
Stars: Edgar Ramírez, Robert De Niro, Ana de Armas
Director: Jonathan Jakubowicz
Grade: C-
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