The sad thing is, this is a movie that every American should see and understand, but that that is almost impossible, there's just too much disinformation standing between us and the truth.

This is not a big film but that Robert De Niro was willing to lend his considerable talents to it speaks volumes about its worth. The story is a true one more than difficult to find in news reports at the time and so all the more jarring when told with the passionate clarity that it gets here.

I admit I have a very personal point of view about this movie. I was stationed in Panama when Duran was fighting. I wish I could have seen him fight, but the closest I came was being outside a stadium and being stunned at the uproar coming from it. I asked someone what was going on and they said Roberto Duran was fighting. Roberto was more than just a fighter to Panamanians, he was their hero. The Chorrillo district he grew up in was mostly slum. To come up from such poverty seems more than heroic to anyone familiar with the area, it's downright miraculous.

As Ray Arcel, his trainer, said, Roberto had some of the best instincts he'd ever seen. He was a natural fighter. His weakness was he was also a man prone to excess and excessive pride and the film does not shrink from those flaws. But to its credit it also doesn't shrink from putting the US in a less than admirable light.

There's more that isn't mentioned in this film, such as the highly suspicious way General Torrijos, president of Panama, died, or the extensive prostitution our military base promotes which Roberto would have witnessed. Still this movie is a vast improvement over the usual way Hollywood portrays Central America.

The acting is excellent throughout though I especially enjoyed Ana de Armas' portrayal of Roberto's wife, Felicidad, for the memories it gave me.

Not exactly what I was expecting at first from a sports movie but in the end it turned out to have the heart I expect from a sports film.

Based on the story of Roberto Duran, a poor street kid from Panama who became that country's symbol of greatest as a boxing champion. It follows his career from his glory days to how his ego caused his fall to his surprising comeback.

Edger Ramirez was fantastic as Duran and Usher Raymond as Sugar Ray Lenard was perfect casting for me hands down.

Also like the connection that Ramirez made with DiNiro who played Ray Arcel. It was very natural them bouncing off one another.

But not the best boxing movie I every seen. Though Ramereiz and Raymond look ready for combat the ring fights could have been better.

Maybe not the point for the film makers as the film documents the rise and fall of a boxing champion that closely mirrors all the other stories of how success corrupts you but if you have the heart and the mindset deep within you you can come back.

Plus the film focus on how Duran's career ran parallel to the state his country was in.

Overall, as a sports movie goes it did not draw me in like they usually do but the outcome was still the same as it plays with my heart to see a man come back from his very worst.

http://cinemagardens.com

This is a biopic of Roberto Durán (Edgar Ramírez). It shows Durán in Panama as a child and incorporates the background of US/Panama relations. As an adult the film concentrates on his relationship with Jewish trainer Ray Arcel (Robert De Niro) who acts more like a life coach, whispering the fight strategy into Durán's ear right before the bout. How about "The Boxer Whisperer" for a title? It is a bit like the "Rocky" series as we see Durán rise up hungry from the streets and winning in a close decision. He then goes on a winner's binge and parties too much, only to lose to Sugar Ray Leonard (Usher Raymond). Durán regains the "Eye of the Tiger" by fighting in a prison. I guess there are only so many variations a boxer's life we can actually have. At least they spared us the training music montage. The film implies Roberto Durán's trash talking was a strategy to get inside another fighter's head.

In addition to representing the pride, joy and hope of Panama, Roberto Durán also represented its anger and embarrassment. It was an interesting film, and of course has a lot of ring fighting.

Guide: F-word, sex, and nudity (Ana de Armas)