1/12/2024 0 Comments Duran no mas![]() Instead of “put your dukes up,” it’s “hands up, suddenly we all got our hands up.” While few consider Usher a first-rate actor, his fancy footwork is undisputed after his step-for-step tribute to Gene Kelly. Just as DeNiro fought Sugar Ray Robinson, Ramirez fights Sugar Ray Leonard, portrayed not by Mark McGrath of ’90s band Sugar Ray, but by R&B star Usher Raymond. ![]() DeNiro even quotes his “Raging Bull” wisdom to Ramirez, saying, “You’re the boss,” en route to a different “Ya never got me down, Ray.” The screen legend steals the movie as the wise sage with meta-cred, offering plenty of lessons to teach from his own “unlikable anti-hero” Jake LaMotta - proof that not every boxing protagonist needs to be a lovable, punch-drunk patriot like Rocky Balboa. ![]() If Paul Giamatti won awards for “Cinderella Man” (2005), Morgan Freeman for “Million Dollar Baby” (2004) and Sylvester Stallone for “Creed” (2015), there’s no reason why DeNiro can’t find a nod here. The far more compelling relationship comes each time Arcel combs Durán’s hair between rounds, overcoming his pupil’s initial mistrust to earn his respect with the realization that not all Americans are out to get him. Outside the ring, DeNiro steals the show as an aging vet with nothing to lose, depicted in his interactions with wife Stephanie (Ellen Barkin) and Brooklyn mob boss Frankie Carbo (John Turturro), who destroyed his boxing career and nearly left him for dead before reaching a gentleman’s agreement to leave him alone as long as he doesn’t make another cent from boxing. She recalls Cathy Moriarty at the pool in “Raging Bull” (1980) as the magnetic Ramirez pursues her down the sidewalk like the suave Steven Bauer striking out in “Scarface” (1983). This breeds a chip-on-the-shoulder, angry-at-everyone attitude and a fear of abandonment that causes him to lash out at those closest to him, namely his knockout wife Felicidad Iglesias (Ana de Armas). government clashing with his native land over the Panama Canal. But the role most resembles his Emmy nod as Venezuelan rebel Ilich Ramírez Sánchez in the TV miniseries “Carlos” (2010), as Ramirez paints Durán as an in-ring Panamanian freedom fighter, burned by an American father who deserted him as a young boy and a U.S. You’ll recognize Ramirez from Paul Greengrass’ “Bourne Ultimatum” (2007), Kathryn Bigelow’s “Zero Dark Thirty” (2012) and David O. While the film shows numerous bouts, three fights serve as fulcrums: first beating Sugar Ray Leonard (Usher) to win the WBC welterweight title in a unanimous decision in Montreal, quitting the infamous New Orleans rematch, then rebounding to a 1983 comeback against undefeated Davey Moore on his 32nd birthday at Madison Square Garden.įor all its structural flaws, “Hands of Stone” is worth watching at the very least for its performances. That controversial life and career is explored in the new boxing biopic “Hands of Stone,” the bruising nickname for Durán (Edgar Ramirez), who rises from the streets of Panama to train with renowned American trainer Ray Arcel (Robert DeNiro). Did he actually utter those words? What brought him to that mental space of quitting? And how did he recover afterward? 25, 1980, where he called it quits in his rematch title defense against Sugar Ray Leonard, reportedly bowing out with the phrase “No más” (no more). WASHINGTON - The Associated Press voted him the greatest lightweight of the 20th century, while Ring Magazine voted him the fifth best fighter of all time, behind Sugar Ray Robinson, Henry Armstrong, Muhammad Ali and Joe Louis.Īnd yet, almost tragically, Roberto Durán is widely remembered for that infamous moment at the Louisiana Superdome on Nov. Business & Finance Click to expand menu.
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