The lives of two aging careers in the sport of boxing change when the two of them meet and create a powerful force. “Hands of Stone” is a biopic on the life and times of the troubled boxing great Roberto Duran. It follows the story of Roberto (Edgar Ramirez), the Panamanian fighter who made his professional debut in 1968 as a 16 year-old, and retired in 2002 at the age of 50. In June 1980, at the height of all of his doubters, he defeated Sugar Ray Leonard (Usher Raymond) to capture the WBC welterweight title, but shocked the boxing world by returning to his corner in their November rematch, famously saying the words “no mas” (no more.) In addition to his polarizing figure in the boxing world, Roberto befriends an aging trainer in Ray Arcel (Robert De Niro), and together the two embark on a journey of enlightenment, to learn that there are things more important than the violent sport that they are invested in. “Hands of Stone” is writer/director Jonathan Jakubowicz’s first production in over ten years, and is rated R for adult language and brief nudity/sexuality.

“Hands of Stone” attempts to tell a good story, often narrating two different arcs for each of its main stars along the way. The problem is that the movie feels too jumbled in artistic creativity, including some of the most hollow and uninspiring fight choreography that I have ever seen in a boxing movie. After last year’s jaw-dropping feat known as “Creed”, we were presented in long shot detailed the very physicality and psychology that goes into every fight. The movie has top notch editing, but its stake in that claim is better suited outside of the ring than in it. The movie at times feels too jumbled, rushing in a two-and-a-half hour story into a 100 minute presentation, and it all feels cluttered. With the fights themselves, and even sometimes the background exposition, too much of this movie is put on fast-forward, sacrificing precious minutes to invest our audience into something more than just another fast-punching boxing movie. The best sports movies fuse real life aspects, while shedding some light on the misunderstood nature of their respective sports. “Hands of Stone” would rather play this one safe to the chest, and as a result, we get a movie that struggles to ever get up by the count of ten.

The idea of making a movie about Roberto Duran is a solid idea. The man was the dawn of the current fighters that we witness today, full of powder keg personalities ready to snap at any minute. Unfortunately, too much time is wasted on Roberto’s manager, Ray Arcel, who while likeable enough, feels shoe-horned into the very momentum and tone of the movie. His role as a manager/father figure in Roberto’s life is almost abandoned completely by the halfway mark of the movie, and De Niro’s soft-sided Ray just doesn’t fit right with the very tempo and visual tragedies that this story encompasses. One aspect of the story I did enjoy was Roberto’s psyche on why he hates America as a whole. At the beginning of the third act, the film presents us with some leads into Duran’s tortured past, and the movie treats the audience with enough respect to put everything together on our own. Force-feeding these issues might come off as borderline manipulative, but luckily screenwriter Jakubowicz’s timing for intrigue always pulled me back in during the scenes that were starting to run out of gas. The movie is paced pretty well, and I can’t ever say that I was bored with it, but this script is a tough one to fully invest yourself in, and a lot of that has to do with a lead character who is anything but likeable.

The strange thing about the movie is that Duran is definitely the protagonist here. In other words, he is the guy we are supposed to be rooting for. But I couldn’t help but turn myself off to him emotionally every time he did something disrespectful or revolting to his character. I get that we have to tell an honest story here, but there’s not much about this real life athlete that would make me stand behind him, or tell children to admire him as a role model. He’s an arrogantly power hungry snob in this movie, and I valued the opportunity for anyone to knock him out. Fortunately, I did my studying on Duran’s career before I saw the movie, and that dark day for him definitely comes. I will get more on the peformances in a second, but I feel like the structure of long-term storytelling was very lagging in the movie. A fine example is the “Rocky” films, which clearly and cohesively build Rocky’s next fight like an insider’s special. With “Hands of Stone”, Sugar Ray Leonard’s character comes out of nowhere, and HE’S THE CHAMPION. How is his story arc not given more time to set the stage for the biggest showdown in lightweight history?

On the subject of performances, we get two very rich and dedicated statures from two men who have worked together previously in 2015’s “Joy”. Edgar Ramirez gives his most compelling work of his early career as Duran. His character is unlikeable, but his portrayal is quite honest here, invoking a sense of Mexican pride during a time when their country searched far and wide for a hero. What I love about Ramirez here, is you fully believe that he is giving everything to this role because he toes a fine line of psychological instability. We see the metaphorical crash in his life happen before the gears even start to shift, and Edgar’s timely personality digs a grave that will take quite a climb to get out of. Robert De Niro is solid as well, giving some of his most passionate deliveries of his 21st century filmography. Not only is De Niro a suitable choice for Arcel visually, but De Niro’s speech patterns mimic the longtime managerial great effortlessly, giving the audience De Niro’s first work that doesn’t feel phoned in, in a long time. Usher Raymond was a good choice for Sugar Ray Leonard, but I just didn’t get enough material for him to inflict his own turn into the character. The movie doesn’t focus as much on his story arc, and that’s a grave shame because the chemistry and fire between he and Ramirez on-screen gave as much background to a story that the movie only wanted to tell in ten minutes or so.

Jonathan Jakubowicz could learn a thing or two about slowing down a presentation and letting the story tell itself, but with that said, “Hands of Stone” is a positive enough addition to the growing boxing biopic genre. It’s a movie that is light on its feet, but packs a few shifting jabs on its way to a true rise and fall story that is elevated by two meaty performances from the two leads. Not a knockout, but a winner by decision.

6/10