Hands of Stone

Hands of Stone is a drama about the Panamanian boxer Roberto Duran, known as "Manos de Piedra," and his relationship with Ray Arcel, the veteran trainer who takes him on. Arcel has spent decades in the sport and believes he has seen it all, but Duran's raw talent strikes him as something different. The two strong-willed men do not click immediately, yet their partnership soon brings results in the ring. The story follows Duran's personal life alongside his career, in particular his rivalry with Sugar Ray Leonard, which builds toward a turning point that threatens to undo everything the pair has built.

The film was directed by Jonathan Jakubowicz, who also wrote the screenplay; it is the first of the two features he has directed, followed by Resistance in 2020. Edgar Ramirez plays Duran, with Robert De Niro as Arcel, Usher as Sugar Ray Leonard, Ruben Blades as Carlos Eleta, Ana de Armas as Felicidad Iglesias and Oscar Jaenada as Chaflan. It was shot in Panama and produced on a budget of about 20 million dollars.

Released in August 2016, the film took roughly 5 million dollars worldwide against that budget. Audiences were moderate: it holds a rating of 6.6 out of 10 on IMDb from around 19,000 votes and the same score on TMDB from a few hundred votes. A critics' rating of 5.3 out of 10 from 109 reviews places it below the audience scores.