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The movie boasts a talented cast, depicting the true story of coach Brendan Ingle, who guided a brash Sheffield youth from Middle Eastern immigrant parents. Dubbed Naseem Hamed, the youngster was coached to stand up to prejudice and molded into a media-friendly titleholder in the 1990s. Ingle nurtured his showboating arrogance and powerful punches, but after becoming rich, the boxer turned against his coach, cutting him out and turning him into a mix of Falstaff and Broadway Danny Rose.

Cast and Characters

Pierce Brosnan portrays Ingle; Amir El-Masry takes on the role of the prince, and Stephens appears as the bullish promoter Warren, who saw the goldmine that the coach had discovered.

Film’s Shortcomings

However, the film honestly lacks the Prince’s fancy footwork: the boxing sequences flow well, but the crucial drama between them is repeatedly flat and monotonous. It lacks nuance or contrast in the portrayal of the protagonist himself, and El-Masry, an otherwise excellent talent, isn’t given the chance to display any depth or much of what might make his role truly engaging – although he’s obviously been training and looks very plausible in the boxing arena.

Problems with Script and Sound

The story is often lumbered with functional, expositional lines that tell you precisely what is going on and what we are supposed to be thinking (“Your journey began your career at age seven …”). It is the sort of script that streaming-TV producers call “second-screen”, ensuring you understand what’s unfolding while you’re watching the film but also glancing at your device. And, the background music is overpowering, sometimes nearly overwhelming, especially in the moment where the boxer gets overexcited calling on Warren in his luxurious residence.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

While El-Masry and Brosnan do their considerable best, their dynamic doesn’t quite ignites, and the major fight scenes are frequently disappointingly cut short. A key scene is surely when, provoked past his limit in the gym one day by Hamed as a delusional “old man”, the trainer in fact offers to get in the ring and box him. Everyone in the room is shocked and uneasy. In what way is this extremely risky confrontation going to unfold? What will be the ending? Certainly the Prince is going to kill him? Alternatively will he emotionally pull his punches? The resolution remains ambiguous.

Bright Spots and Comedy

That’s not to say that there aren’t some nice jabs. Brosnan gets laughs when his character informs a reporter what he’s teaching the youths from his local community: to oppose bias and when you meet a offender, “Hit them in the groin”. Amusing too when the boxer fidgets at the ridiculous stunts the coach makes him do in the early days: acting like the “monster from the Middle East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

Regarding the falling out, the film shows this as being exacerbated by a revealing book that the trainer is supposed to have authored (a plot point evidently modified from another source), and there is an intriguingly imagined final conversation – although the emotional tribute that Hamed is supposed to have given to Ingle after his passing is only mentioned in the closing credits, and not shown on screen. There is interesting material in this film, but the punches fail to connect.

The film screened at the London film festival and is in UK and Irish cinemas from January 9.