Home Reviews Review: Hands of Stone

Review: Hands of Stone

As we know, films about the sport of boxing have been around for ages. As we also know, the reason for this is because it’s the type of sport that lends itself to the cinematic angles of life like know other modern day competition can. This is why even though the sport itself may not be what it used to be, it will still keep showing up in theaters for generations to come. That’s certainly not a bad thing as it brings us fictional stories while also giving tales based on fact like Hands of Stone.

For anyone who knows boxing, the title of this picture is the nickname of Roberto Duran. Played by Edgar Ramírez, Duran is brought to life here to showcase who he was and who he came to be. In doing so, audiences get a look at the former boxers troublesome upbringing in Panama to his glory days of doing battle with the likes of Sugar Ray Leonard (Usher Raymond), one of the biggest legends the sport will ever see.

Hands of Stone manages to effectively tell the life story of boxing great Roberto Duran. It essentially starts when he’s a kid and goes throughout a large chunk of his professional boxing career. During this time on camera, we’re also able to find out about his life outside of the squared circle and how his upbringing and beliefs motivated him. For those of us who are interested in these things, this gives us the necessary view that allows us to understand more about the motivations of a champion.

While Hands of Stone is not the kind of boxing movie that people will be talking about for years to come, it’s good at what it’s able to provide. In saying that I mean there’s some quality entertainment even though not a whole lot jumps out at you while watching it. There’s a bunch of stuff going on, but there was some room to leave a definitive impression on viewers.

Some of the boxing scenes are nice to watch, but a couple of them kind of disappoint. That’s not to say they’re bad, but they kind of feel like decent boxing matches in the real world. This stuff doesn’t have to be filmed like it’s a Rocky movie, but there did need to be a little more drama added to some of them. To accomplish that, all you probably needed was some more dramatic music playing behind it all. That and changing angles at the right times have proven to drastically improve things in film.

I know a decent amount about Roberto Duran as a fighter, but I don’t know how much his of his life outside of the ring is accurately portrayed here in terms of what could be described as small details. I’m assuming much of it is legit, but a little bit of fiction is to be expected. While I don’t usually endorse too much of that, it’s understandable when you’re trying to tell a story and build on the legend of a legendary figure.

Regardless of how much of this is fact, fiction or something in between, all of this picture is focused on properly building up the legend that Roberto Duran has carried with him for quite some time. If you’re a boxing fan or you’re in simple need of an entertaining movie, you can’t go wrong with Hands of Stone. It gives you you a lot to grasp onto while maintaining a very quick run time by today’s standards.

Rating: R

Director: Jonathan Jukobowicz

Cast:
Edgar Ramírez
Robert De Niro
Usher Raymond
Ana de Armas
Jurnee Smollett-Bell
Ellen Barkin
John Turturro

Film Length: 105 minutes

Release Date: August 26, 2016

Distributor: The Weinstein Company

  • Timothée Chalamet and Josh Brolin star in Warner Bros. Pictures' DUNE PART 2

    Review: Dune Part 2

    In spite of its hype, I wasn’t all that excited about Dune Part 2. One reason was because …
  • Joe Taslim as Sub-Zero in Warner Bros. Pictures' MORTAL KOMBAT

    Review: Mortal Kombat (2021)

    I don’t think me or anyone I know was expecting an amazing work of art from Mortal K…
  • Dave Davis stars in IFC Midnight's THE VIGIL

    Review: The Vigil

    Movies that focus on elements of different cultures always interest me. I guess that’…
  • Jamie Foxx stars in Disney's SOUL

    Review: Soul

    In many cases, animated films end up being better and more developed than most live-action…
  • Gal Gadot stars in Warner Bros. Pictures' WONDER WOMAN 1984

    Review: Wonder Woman 1984

    I wasn’t a fan of the first Wonder Woman film starring Gal Gadot. Although it seemed…
  • Luis Gerardo Mendez and Connor Del Rio star in Focus Features' HALF BROTHERS

    Review: Half Brothers

    Half Brothers kind of snuck up on me. Not only had I not heard of it until a week or two b…
Load More Related Articles
Load More By Jaskee Hickman
  • (L-r) Mia Goth and Halsey star in A24 films' Maxxxine

    Review: Maxxxine

    As someone who is always in the mood for horror, I jumped at the chance to watch Maxxxine.…
  • Timothée Chalamet and Josh Brolin star in Warner Bros. Pictures' DUNE PART 2

    Review: Dune Part 2

    In spite of its hype, I wasn’t all that excited about Dune Part 2. One reason was because …
  • Joe Taslim as Sub-Zero in Warner Bros. Pictures' MORTAL KOMBAT

    Review: Mortal Kombat (2021)

    I don’t think me or anyone I know was expecting an amazing work of art from Mortal K…
  • Eddie Murphy stars in Amazon's COMING 2 AMERICA

    Review: Coming 2 America

    Coming to America is my favorite comedy of all-time. However, I wasn’t someone who w…
  • Dave Davis stars in IFC Midnight's THE VIGIL

    Review: The Vigil

    Movies that focus on elements of different cultures always interest me. I guess that’…
  • Jamie Foxx stars in Disney's SOUL

    Review: Soul

    In many cases, animated films end up being better and more developed than most live-action…
Load More In Reviews

Check Also

Review: Maxxxine

As someone who is always in the mood for horror, I jumped at the chance to watch Maxxxine.…