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colbalt91 Posts: 298
8/18/2016
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"Hands of Stone" is a boxing movie that centers on the real life of Roberto Duran, a Panamanian boxer who made it to the world stage only to embarrass himself and boxing in the ring. The pop singer Usher plays Sugar Ray Leonard, a boxer Duran has to face twice. Robert De Niro stars as Ray Arcel, a boxing manager who comes out of retirement as he is so impressed by the young Roberto Duran. Robert De Niro has one of his daughters starring somewhere in the movie, also.
Any movie coming out in the latter part of the year with a major Oscar contender like De Niro is usually seen as a movie with Oscar potential. This is not that movie. Just sticking Robert De Niro in the movie does not automatically give him Oscar credibility.
This is a movie that wanders. It cannot make its mind up whether to concentrate on the Mafia's influence in boxing with the Ray Arcel angle or dabble in the Panamanian / American politics of Roberto Duran's Panama that is separated by the 'colony' called The Canal Zone run by the US government. And then,of course, there is Roberto Duran's own life to meander through.
Further complicating things for this review, is the fact that I lived in Panama during the sixties and early seventies. So, when the director tries to show that there is a fence separating Panama and the Canal Zone I know there wasn't a fence during that period of time. Panamanians were free to go into the Canal Zone anytime they wanted and vice versa, for Americans into Panama. And then there's a scene where a young Roberto Duran has avoided the U S military police in order to steal mangoes off of a mango tree to help feed his family. Well, I know mango trees were as plentiful as weeds in Panama and very prolific in their fruit so I did not see this scene as actually being real. The Canal Zone was separated into military bases and civilian areas so why not just walk into a civilian area and knock some mangoes down from the multitude of trees.
Definitely helping out this movie is Ana De Armas. You may say who is Ana De Armas? She is in the movie "War Dogs" playing the wife of one of the two entrepreneurs. In that movie you are impressed by her smoldering eyes and in this movie you are impressed by her smoldering body as she has a very hot nude scene as the wife of Roberto Duran. I hear she is supposed to appear in the upcoming Blade Runner sequel, so, you will probably be impressed again.
Overall "Hands of Stone" is an adequate movie, but not an Oscar contender in any way.
edited by colbalt91 on 8/18/2016
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quinnspuddinjoker Posts: 673
8/19/2016
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De Niro hasn't had a good movie in over 10 years I feel.
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