Hands of Stone (2016)

**Hands of Stone tells an interesting story with solid performances but doesn’t pull all its elements together for a satisfying final result.** Hands of Stone is a little-known historical drama focusing on renowned boxer Roberto Duran with a solid cast, including an early in her Hollywood career, Ana de Armas. While well-done and well-acted, it still struggles to satisfy. Its most significant barrier would be the decisions and attitude of the main character. Duran is portrayed as incredibly brash and selfish, making his rival a more sympathetic character. Usher’s performance as Sugar Ray only furthered my support of his character. In addition, there is a surprising amount of sex and nudity in the film that constantly distracts from the story and character development. That said, the story is fascinating and had me googling to see what actually happened between Duran and Leonard. Ramirez poured a lot of heart and effort into his performance, making Hands of Stone take a step from mediocre to decent. Unfortunately, Hands of Stone didn’t make it good or excellent.

**Some people are so tough, because that's how they grew up!** A biographical sports film directed by some Venezuelan filmmaker and actor Edgar Ramirez in the lead with De Niro in a supporting role. This is the story of a famous boxer from Panama, Roberto Duran. Takes place during the 1980s, when protest was intensified to free Panama canal from the US control. Duran was interested in boxing since he was a little and then he was helped by a local small time coach. But when his professional fight begins to take off big, he required someone who can handle him at the big stages. So that's where a former American boxer comes in and what happens between them, followed by how Duran's life turns out is what covered in the rest. Biographies are always good to watch. Sometimes it inspires, how those persons struggled to achieve something big. But this film was just okay, similar to most of the sports films. I did not dislike the story, I did not like how it was made. All I wanted was a better screenplay and it kind of failed on that part. The actors are the best thing in this. Both De Niro and Ramirez were decent, though expected big. Those 80s atmospheres were so good, but the stunt choreography was average. As based on a real person, it is a good film, though watching it for entertainment is a little disappointment. Overall, definitely worth a try. _7/10_