Hands of Stone tells an interesting story with solid performances but doesn’t pull all its elements together for a satisfying final result.
Hands of Stone is a little-known historical drama focusing on renowned boxer Roberto Duran with a solid cast, including an early in her Hollywood career, Ana de Armas. While well-done and well-acted, it still struggles to satisfy. Its most significant barrier would be the decisions and attitude of the main character. Duran is portrayed as incredibly brash and selfish, making his rival a more sympathetic character. Usher’s performance as Sugar Ray only furthered my support of his character. In addition, there is a surprising amount of sex and nudity in the film that constantly distracts from the story and character development. That said, the story is fascinating and had me googling to see what actually happened between Duran and Leonard. Ramirez poured a lot of heart and effort into his performance, making Hands of Stone take a step from mediocre to decent. Unfortunately, Hands of Stone didn’t make it good or excellent.