The first time I saw Roberto Duran fight was the Duran v Leonard fight...... Part 2. Where Sugar Ray Leonard was showboating, doing the Ali shuffle and basically humiliating Duran. I turned to my older brother and said that Duran is a bit rubbish only to be met with a reply, he is the world champion and usually a bit of a an animal but Leonard is on another plane tonight.
Hands of Stone tells the story of Roberto Duran (Edgar Ramirez) told through the eyes of veteran trainer Ray Arcel (Robert De Niro.) Ramirez is frankly to old for the teenage Duran, a wild kid brought up in poverty in Panama who becomes maybe the best lightweight ever.
Duran took two big money fights with Sugar Ray Leonard (Usher) the golden boy of boxing and Duran won the first fight by taunting Leonard to brawl with him, a mistake Leonard did not make the second time.
Still Duran came back after this defeat where he allegedly said 'no mas' and quit the fight. Duran would go on to become world champion in two further weight divisions.
A lot of the film is actually in Spanish for the Panama based scenes, it is a competent and entertaining film of a legendary boxer who retired from boxing at the age of 50 in 2002.
There is nothing in the film though that elevates it to greatness. If you have De Niro in the cast and it is a boxing film your mind turns to Raging Bull, a landmark boxing film. This is not in that league.
Hands of Stone tells the story of Roberto Duran (Edgar Ramirez) told through the eyes of veteran trainer Ray Arcel (Robert De Niro.) Ramirez is frankly to old for the teenage Duran, a wild kid brought up in poverty in Panama who becomes maybe the best lightweight ever.
Duran took two big money fights with Sugar Ray Leonard (Usher) the golden boy of boxing and Duran won the first fight by taunting Leonard to brawl with him, a mistake Leonard did not make the second time.
Still Duran came back after this defeat where he allegedly said 'no mas' and quit the fight. Duran would go on to become world champion in two further weight divisions.
A lot of the film is actually in Spanish for the Panama based scenes, it is a competent and entertaining film of a legendary boxer who retired from boxing at the age of 50 in 2002.
There is nothing in the film though that elevates it to greatness. If you have De Niro in the cast and it is a boxing film your mind turns to Raging Bull, a landmark boxing film. This is not in that league.