Hands of Stone

The sad thing is, this is a movie that every American should see and understand, but that that is almost impossible, there's just too much disinformation standing between us and the truth.

This is not a big film but that Robert De Niro was willing to lend his considerable talents to it speaks volumes about its worth. The story is a true one more than difficult to find in news reports at the time and so all the more jarring when told with the passionate clarity that it gets here.

I admit I have a very personal point of view about this movie. I was stationed in Panama when Duran was fighting. I wish I could have seen him fight, but the closest I came was being outside a stadium and being stunned at the uproar coming from it. I asked someone what was going on and they said Roberto Duran was fighting. Roberto was more than just a fighter to Panamanians, he was their hero. The Chorrillo district he grew up in was mostly slum. To come up from such poverty seems more than heroic to anyone familiar with the area, it's downright miraculous.

As Ray Arcel, his trainer, said, Roberto had some of the best instincts he'd ever seen. He was a natural fighter. His weakness was he was also a man prone to excess and excessive pride and the film does not shrink from those flaws. But to its credit it also doesn't shrink from putting the US in a less than admirable light.

There's more that isn't mentioned in this film, such as the highly suspicious way General Torrijos, president of Panama, died, or the extensive prostitution our military base promotes which Roberto would have witnessed. Still this movie is a vast improvement over the usual way Hollywood portrays Central America.

The acting is excellent throughout though I especially enjoyed Ana de Armas' portrayal of Roberto's wife, Felicidad, for the memories it gave me.

For a biographical movie is good, mainly because, unlike to others in this genre, the actors speaks in the languages of the real people they portraits. But for a boxing movie, at times fails with the romantic drama scenes but mainly for the over egocentric personality of the main character, Roberto Durán. Also the script doesn't show the public enough matches. The highlights of the film, obviously, is Edgar Ramirez performance, but in my opinion, gives me a mixed perspective...in one hand, a confident and charismatic Durán, in the other hand, sadly, a man who blames his father for leaving his family and uses that as an excuse for his hate to U.S.A. is kinda annoying, also he thinks he's unstoppable even with his coach, Ray Arcel, played by Robert de Niro. Despite all this, the simple script is saved by some aspects. One is the costume design, because the movie occurs in many years, and the clothes tells us the time In which the characters live. The good technical aspects, like photography, sound mixing and editing, and film editing too, gives the film a better look. In overall, this movie is better enjoyed if you seek a mix between sports, drama and romance but not at its best.

Caracas, Venezuela, born Director/Writer/Producer Jonathan Jakubowicz (Secuestro express - 2005), along with producing wife Claudine (Epicentral Studios) leap from the Latin film arena to tell the true story of the raise/fall and raise again of showy Panamanian boxer Roberto Duran, portrayed by the outstanding Edgar Ramirez (Zero Dark Thirty). With childhood sweetheart Felicidad (Ana de Armas - War Dogs) by his side, Duran (known as "Manos de Piedra" Hands of Stone) claims the WBC welterweight title in 1980 over state-side favorite Sugar Ray Leonard (well portrayed by the at times too pretty Usher - The Voice), only to later utter the words "No mas" (no more), walking away from a rematch. Superbly guiding Duran through his life/career is training great Ray Arcel (the always terrific Robert De Niro), money man Carlos (Ruben Blades - Safe House) and childhood funny man Chaplain (Oscar Jaenada - Cantinflas). While several side stories are briefly presented, they help Jakubowicz elevate the film from just a boxing movie. Music by Angelo Mili, cinematography (Miguel Loann Litton Menz), costumes (Bina Daigeler) and set decoration by Denise Camargo and Amy Williams (especially the Disco scene) bring the film to life. Reg E. Cathey (Don King) and the younger Duran (David Arosemena) have nice smaller roles, as does one of my all time favorites Ellen Barkin (Animal Kingdom) as Ray's wife. "Get into the ring" with this elevated boxing film.

Hands of Stone is a rise, fall and rise again story of famed Panamanian boxer Roberto Duran (Ramirez) who leapt into notoriety in the 70's after his first controversial appearance at Madison Square Gardens. By the time of his retirement in 2002 at the age of 50, he had 199 fights under his belt with 103 wins and four titles as a light weight, welter weight, light middle weight and middle weight. The film however focuses on his relationship with legendary boxing trainer Ray Arcel (De Niro) whose own exploits in the boxing world made him the first trainer to be inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame.

Doing a movie of this nature, a couple of questions arise. How do you accurately and intimately make a film about the life and times of Roberto Duran who in addition to being a legend was also a legendary pre-fight s**t talker? How can one best encapsulate the real life of a man who at one point was the guiding light of an entire nation yet had enough of an ego to name all of his male heirs Roberto? Finally, how do you do make that movie great while siphoning off of cues and themes from inspirations like Rocky (1976) and Raging Bull (1980)?

The answer is of course you can't; but you can make a half-way decent film out of everything. And that's basically what director Jonathan Jakubowicz and Bob and Harvey Weinstein have done. It plods its course, steadily paces itself, jab at the appropriate emotional moments and ducks from the energy-sucking minutia that episodic plot-lines tend to have in abundance. Robert De Niro is fine as Ray Arcel giving a spry, worthwhile performance in the same ballpark as Billy Sunday in Men of Honor (2000). Likewise Edgar Ramirez hits all the right notes as our beleaguered hero giving the screenplay a much better performance than it honestly deserves. Ana de Armas, Usher Raymond, Ruben Blades, Oscar Jaenada and Ellen Barkin are all very good with Reg E. Cathey giving a very small but showstopping performance as infamous boxing promoter Don King. Heck even the balance of languages (English and Spanish) is respectfully and organically done. If a great film is three great scenes and no bad ones, then Hands of Stone is 50% of the way there.

Yet much like the underrated Southpaw (2015), it also has no pivotal, never forget scenes or iconic lines. The brightly colored barrios of Panama City and the glitzy sparkle of Las Vegas, not to mention the atmospherics of locker rooms inexplicably filled with smoke, don't really leave an impact. Neither do the stakes of Duran's life which, much like Billy Hope's, was and probably still is filled with conflict, inner-turmoil and a pride that manifests in nationalistic fervor. It's a shame too because if the film decided to explore that aspect of Duran's life, i.e. his relationship to Panama and its people, it could have been unique enough to recommend strongly.

Yet instead, the film doubles down on the "success is ruination" themes picked up by Raging Bull, while kneading out the supposed nobility of a sport in which two grown men beat the crap out of each other. Yet while watching Hands of Stone, I kept hoping they would change up the kinetic, fast-paced editing of the fight sequences with moments that were, say a little more poetic. For those of you who know what I'm insinuating, congratulations you've seen a "great" scene from a "great" movie about boxing.

The best that can be said about Hands of Stone is it does what it does predictably and well, like a cover band that's been around for years. It's energetic, it's fun to watch, it certainly has talented people who put their heart and soul into the project and it plays all the hits...yet it's not the real thing. Oh well, a tin star still shines, a discount belt still buckles and Hands of Stone is still good. Watch it if you must, otherwise watch Rocky again instead.

Hands of Stone is a pleasant surprise for those willing to regress in time to experience the heights of boxing. Way before internet, there was a time and a place when events like boxing happened, specially when Roberto Duran fought, Panama would come to a stand still. Everyone was tuned into their television for the occasion. When he won, you would hear the country erupt in glee of victory with people sounding their pots & pans. The film showcases those days in an adequate manner. Yes there is the usual clichés happening, but the film's energy transcends those usual predictable story plot point to keep you engage enough to care for the characters. The time capsule through the production design and soundtrack made this film a delight to watch. There is a vast array of subliminal messages from the director, Well come to think of it, its not so subliminal as you see in the ring corners advertising to "Invest in Venezuela". Im sure this obvious product placement was a plea by the director and/or the Venezuelan team working on the film for the audience to take notice of the current situation Venezuelans are living. This strategy has been duly noted. The international cast serves the film well and brings the essence of Duran journey to life. Ruben Blades vintage soundtracks adds an unequal energy to the scenes boosting the film above your usual boxing flick. Hands of Stone is better served watching it on the big screen to truly appreciate the scope of the film.