Hands of Stone gets critical cold douche

 HANDS OF STONE   the locally hyped movie about Panama’s legendary boxing hero  Roberto Duran has received a cold reception from critics.

It  will be released on Friday   August 26 in 2000 cinemas in   the US. Canada and Panama, and was predicted to put the country  on the tourist map.
The film, which includes  Robert De Niro, Edgar Ramirez and Ruben Blades, is  part of a group of limited release films.,it  will not be in as many  cinema  complexes in North America as  others like Suicide Squad (4225 venues ) and War Dogs (3,258)
Filmed mostly on the Isthmus with large bands of local extras,  it was  screened out of competition at the International Film Festival of Cannes but the  critics reception at best has been luke warm.
According to the website rottentomatoes.com, which brings together film criticism, mainly published in America and England, it has 45% favorable  reviews

Of 14 reviews, it got one A and one F.

Head Blow

Jordan Hoffman of The Guardian, called it “subtle as a blow to the head”. He considered it “a failure” if the intention of the Panama Film Commission Film Panama wanted to convert Hands of Stone in a vehicle to increase domestic tourism, because “the film manages to make Panama a dirty place that nobody wants to visit”.

The critic Steve Pond, on the website The Wrap, wrote that it was “a good party for actor Robert De Niro, but boxing routine ho hum… The results are not as fabulous as their promised elements.”

Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter said that “if there was a virtual ring in which  boxing movies fight , Hands of the Stone and Creed (2015, Ryan Coogler) will face one another as middleweights, Creed  probably wins on  points … but not by a large margin.

“So What?

Owen Gleiberman, Variety magazine  said Hands of Stone “does the job, but it’s hard not to have the feeling of watching a topical boxing movie and fairly generic. It is fully competent, but makes the story of Roberto Duran seem a bit ‘so what? “.

Brian Truitt, USA Today,  said it highlights the character of Robert De Niro (Ray Arcel coach) and  has too many subplots; Usher Raymond (plays Sugar Ray Leonard) has a better performance on the big screen that Edgar Ramirez (Roberto Duran); Creed beats Hands of Stone, and the pace of the film only rises when the two legendary fights between Leonard and Duran are recorded.

Lindsey Bahr (AP news agency) said: “A good film suitable for teenagers and adults. However,the  feeing l that we have seen it before is inevitable. “