Review for Hands of Stone (2016) Directed by Jonathan Jakubowicz. Starring: Edgar Ramírez, Usher Raymond, Robert De Niro. IMDB says “The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other’s lives.”
“Shmuck…”
I feel like Hands of Stone appeared from thin air. There was no hype, build up, rumblings or news stories about the filming of this movie. Maybe there were, but I didn’t read them and I frequent r/Movies almost too much. There I am, watching sports programming when I see a trailer for Hands of Stone. I was fascinated, but I quickly wrote the film off. What more could this film show me that ESPN’s 30 for 30: No Mas did not? The 2013 documentary took a look at fights between “Sugar” Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran and explored the controversy. But they did it from Leonard’s point of view with little insight about Duran. Hands of Stone does the reverse, looking at the fights from the perspective of Roberto Duran as well as Ray Arcel. But mainly, the film acts like a sort of biopic for Duran. Plus Robert DeNiro is in the film. What could go wrong?
Hands of Stone is the directorial debut of Jonathan Jakubowicz, who also wrote the film. It takes a look at Roberto Duran (Edgar Ramirez) and his upbringing on the streets of Panama. He discovers he’s good at fighting and begins to hone his skills. Having conquered Panama, he sets his sights for America. After a fight in Madison Square Garden, he’s introduced to legendary boxing coach Ray Arcel (Robert DeNiro). The goal is to make Duran boxing’s next great champion. From there, and I’m disappointed to say it, we trudge along through a fairly generic rise and fall story. What saves the film are the boxing scenes and the acting. The performances are solid. Robert DeNiro is good, but the stand out is Edgar Ramirez (Joy, The Counselor). He becomes Roberto Duran. His look and mannerisms are Duran to a T. You couldn’t pick a better actor to play Duran. What makes this performance so good is the fact that Duran is such a hard character to get behind. Half the film, I didn’t want to root for the guy because he’s awful. I understand the obstacles he’s had to overcome, but as his fame grows and his skills grow, he lets his fear and insecurity manifest in ways that make him out to be a real bastard. It’s a true anti-hero performance and I hope this is a stepping stone to even bigger and greater roles for Ramirez.
While Ramirez is the standout, the surprise comes from Usher Raymond (Muppets Most Wanted, The Faculty) He is a dead ringer for Leonard, and while his screen time is limited, he makes the most of it in every scene he’s featured. Ana De Armas (War Dogs, Knock Knock) plays Duran love interest Felicidad Iglesias, but her role feels like it’s missing something. It’s not the fault of de Armas, she tries to make what she has work, but she turns in a performance that feels like any other love interest in any other biopic. John Turturro and Ellen Barkin have small roles in the film, but you wonder why. There is no need for their characters, and their acting ability ends up wasted.
The boxing scenes are fun. They may not be on a Creed level of excellence, but they’ve done something with the audio that puts you in the ring with the fighters. I can’t put my finger on it, but whatever they’ve done deserves award recognition. The big downfall of the film is the plot. To tell Roberto Duran’s story in such a color by numbers linear fashion is a disservice to the story itself. The rivalry between Duran and Leonard, and the circumstances surrounding the fight, are too unique a story to be handled to generically. The film also attempts to shoe horn in a family subplot with Arcel and some mafia business, but it jumbles up the flow of the story and takes the wind from it’s sails. Earlier this year we had biopics like Born to Be Blue and Miles Ahead that pushed creative boundaries to present stories as unique as their characters. It’s a shame to see a biopic afraid to push those boundaries and default to something so basic.
The score is okay. At times it feels like the film has no score, it’s that forgettable. Not saying a score in a boxing film has to wow me, but even Rocky had a theme. If you’re looking for a good boxing double feature, watch Hands of Stone then the 30 for 30: No Mas. Despite it’s rough edges, Hands of Stone is worth checking out. The film does a solid job of recreating moments from the actual fights and Ramirez’s performance is too good to miss out on. Be it in theatres, or by rental, carve out some time for this film.
FTS SCORE: 68%
Hands of Stone is in theaters everywhere nationwide.