Hands of Stone Movie Review

Hands of Stone (2016)

Hands of Stone - Formulaic to a fault.

Buy Hands of Stone
Written by: Jonathan Jakubowicz
Directed by: Jonathan Jakubowicz
Starring:  Edgar Ramírez, Usher Raymond, Robert De Niro, John Turturro, Ellen Barkin, Jurnee Smollett-Bell
Rated: R

My rating is simple, Watch It, It Depends, Skip it. Read my previous movie reviews!

Plot
Boxer Roberto Durán and his legendary trainer Ray Arcel make it to the world title fight against Sugar Ray Leonard.

Verdict
This is 'just' a boxing movie. This follows the tried and true pattern of boxing movies, and because of that, it's boring and predictable. It's all formula with no heart. We don't even get to root for the underdog because Durán is so dominant. The movie tries to make you root against him, but it's disappointing that this character and story is squandered.  Of course this has a final fight, but it lacks any kind of impact or emotion.
Skip it.

Review
Roberto Durán is considered to be one of the best boxers of all time and held world titles in four weight classes, including lightweight (1972–1979), welterweight (1980), light middleweight (1983–1984) and middleweight (1989).

Hands of Stone focuses primarily on Durán's (Edgar Ramirez) 1980 fight and rematch with Sugar Ray Leonard (Usher Raymond). As I watched this, I could imagine someone checking boxes as they created the outline.
Legendary trainer Ray Arcel (Robert De Niro) who comes out of retirement to Durán after seeing his immense talent.
It adds a layer of Panama's political scene and Durán's background, though it doesn't provide enough context to make it meaningful.
Of course there is a love interest that doesn't like Roberto at first and later serves to add drama later.
There's a training montage, because this is a boxing movie after all.

This follows such a basic pattern, and any plot points that could set this apart are mostly ignored. We never get a feel for who Durán really is. His transformation is from hard working boxer to a champ that parties hard and sleeps around. He's not exactly a hero the caliber of Rocky.

The best character arc, though underdeveloped, might be Sugar Ray Leonard. He loses a fight and makes the necessary adjustments to prevail in a rematch. Leonard realizes that Durán got into his head before the first match by insulting his family and wife.
I had doubts about performer Usher trying to act, but he doesn't have a big part and his persona and look meshes well with Leonard.

While Durán's insults were off putting, the movie does reconcile it later. Though at the time it just makes Durán look like an arrogant villain. Not often does a boxing movie want you to root against the protagonist. Durán wins the match.

Of course Leonard wants a rematch and Durán's manager agrees because it's an eight million dollar payday. Durán is out of shape and unmotivated. He's enjoying his status as champ, and the excess that follows. You can make the link that he's enjoying the riches he never had as a kid, but the movie never directly connects it. Panama and his heritage is just set dressing.
This also serves as a partial excuse for his loss. In the rematch, Durán famously stated "No más." or no more, quitting in the eighth round.
Of course we get another fight to end on a win, but the movie glosses over his losses in the mean time.

This has some big names in the cast, but not much else. The editing is sharp, but you can't hang a hat on that.
Almost any other boxing movie is more interesting, Creed (read my review) provides a solid story, Southpaw (read my review) has a great performance despite lacking story, an even The Great White Hype serves as pulp entertainment.