- Title: Hands of Stone
- IMDb: link
2016’s Hands of Stone is your typical biopic offering highlights of the life and career of professional boxer Roberto Durán (Edgar Ramírez). Writer/director Jonathan Jakubowicz‘s by-the-numbers approach doesn’t offer much in the way of surprises or insight into Durán, but the film’s cast is solid beginning with a strong performance from Ramírez with some effective boxing sequences covering some of the biggest fights of the first-half of Durán’s career.
Robert De Niro as Durán’s trainer, Ana de Armas as his wife, and Usher in some inspired casting as Sugar Ray Leonard, highlight the supporting cast. De Niro is in grumpy old manger mode butting heads with his fighter for most of the film while Ana de Armas steals some scenes into Durán’s personal life. While at times the film seems to think of her as an afterthought, she’s stunning here often beautifully framed by cinematographer M.I. Littin-Menz.
While far from a must-see, Hands of Stone works as you would expect from its genre. It may not offer much in the way of new insight into one of boxing’s most famous fighters but it also doesn’t shy away from the sharper edges of Durán’s personality. At times he was a more fearsome opponent to himself than those he squared off against in the squared circle. Concerned at least as much with the legend of Durán as the man himself, Hands of Stone ignores all but the first match following his return from retirement including the third match between Durán and Leonard as well as Durán’s fights against the likes of Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns. While this allows the film a happy ending, ignoring two decades of Durán’s fights offers a somewhat limited and view of his career.
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