Hands of Stone (2016)

One of the best films i have seen

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

I saw this at home on DVD from my public library. This is not my wife's type of movie so she skipped. My dad was a big fan of 'boxing', when I was a kid he even listened to some fights on the radio at night. But the purists don't call it 'boxing', no it is 'fighting', as in "Prize Fighting." I've never been a fan, but I do enjoy seeing a good biography.Many consider Roberto Duran the greatest champion of all time, but that debate will never end. He had a 34-year career, starting as a professional at age 16. The story here starts where he grew up in Panama, when he was nearing 20. Panama itself was against the USA occupation but the Panama Canal was at stake. Duran grew up in poverty, and grew up fighting for what he needed. Basically a street brawler, which naturally took him into fighting in the ring as a way to make money.He wanted to be world champion so he went to New York to look up famed trainer Ray Arcel, who at first didn't want to have anything to do with him. However he recognized Duran's innate ability and knew, if he could get Duran to focus and develop a fight strategy, instead of just brawling, he could beat anyone. Much of the 'boxing' part of the movie focuses on his bouts with Sugar Ray Leonard, at first bitter adversaries but later in life friends. Edgar Ramírez is excellent as Roberto Durán, so is Robert De Niro as Ray Arcel, and the singer Usher Raymond as Sugar Ray Leonard. Excellent movie. As an aside De Niro's real life daughter has a role as Arcel's daughter.

Writer/director Jonathan Jakubowicz has captured the true story of Panamanian boxer Roberto Durán and has been able to turn this rags to riches to dissipation and back story into far more than just a boxing story. This is a film that focuses on the interpersonal and professional relationship between a fighter and his trainer and it works well.The story is a rise, fall and rise again story of legendary Panamanian boxer Roberto Durán (Edgar Ramírez) who climbed into notoriety in 1968 as a 16 year old in his first controversial appearance at Madison Square Gardens. In June 1980, he defeated Sugar Ray Leonard (Usher Raymond) to capture the WBC welterweight title but shocked the boxing world by returning to his corner in the November rematch, saying 'no mas' (no more): he was retiring from boxing. By the time of his actual retirement in 2002 at the age of 50, he had 199 fights under his belt with 103 wins and four titles as a lightweight, welterweight, light middleweight and middleweight. The film however focuses on his relationship with legendary boxing trainer Ray Arcel (Robert De Niro) whose own exploits in the boxing world made him the first trainer to be inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame.The cast is splendid – and in addition to Ramirez, Raymond, and De Niro there are fine supporting roles by Ana de Armas as Roberto's wife, Rubén Blades as Carlos Eleta, John Turturro as Frankie Carbo, Pedro Perez as Plomo, and Ellen Barkin as De Niro's wife, and Reg E. Cathey as Don King.For boxing fans and for those who respect the history of sports this film is a must. But beyond the boxing and historical aspects, the interacting between Ramírez and De Niro is richly rewarding and Oscar worthy performances. Grady Harp, December 16

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.

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