It's engaging, sure, with some fast-paced and capable fight sequences.
– Joe Dziemianowicz,
New York Daily News,
26 Aug 2016
rotten:
"Hands of Stone" is less like a boxing flick and more like a professional wrestling battle royale with all its different subplots angling for main event status.
– Adam Graham,
Detroit News,
26 Aug 2016
rotten:
In trying to encompass way too much, Hands of Stone ends up feeling superficial and unsatisfying.
– Christy Lemire,
RogerEbert.com,
26 Aug 2016
rotten:
There are some engaging asides about Arcel's struggles with boxing's dirty underbelly, but they feel like they belong to a different movie. (De Niro's superfluous and soporific voiceover, however, belongs in no movie whatsoever.)
– Matthew Lickona,
San Diego Reader,
27 Aug 2016
rotten:
Traditional and uninspired, it does an adequate job of relating Duran's story but falls short of providing an engaging cinematic experience.