Hands of Stone - De Niro elevates this sports biopic that skips the sports movie tropes

Hands of Stone depicts the gritty, multifaceted life of Panamanian boxer Roberto Durán Sports films often follow a familiar playbook, sticking to tropes and clichés: the underdog triumphs, the fall from grace, and the dramatic comeback in the climax. From Rocky to Remember the Titans, these films tend to focus on predictable narratives of resilience and redemption. While these formulaic elements can be inspiring, they sometimes strip away the complexity of real-life sports stories.