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The movie features a talented ensemble, depicting the true story of coach Brendan Ingle, who mentored a brash Sheffield youth from Middle Eastern migrant parents. Known as “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the youngster was coached to confront prejudice and molded into a celebrity titleholder in the late 90s. The trainer cultivated his flamboyant arrogance and powerful punches, but after becoming rich, Hamed turned against his mentor, excluding him and turning him into a mix of John Falstaff and Broadway Danny Rose.

Cast and Characters

Brosnan plays Ingle; El-Masry embodies the part of the prince, and Stephens appears as the bullish promoter Warren, who recognized the potential that Ingle had uncovered.

Film’s Shortcomings

Yet, the movie frankly lacks the Prince’s fancy footwork: the fight scenes flow well, but the crucial drama in between is consistently flat and one-note. It lacks nuance or light and shade in the portrayal of the protagonist himself, and El-Masry, an otherwise outstanding performer, doesn’t get the chance to display any subtlety or much of what might make his character really interesting – even though he’s obviously been training and appears convincing in the boxing arena.

Problems with Script and Sound

The story is often burdened by utilitarian, explanatory lines that tell you exactly what is happening and what we are meant to feel (“Your journey began your boxing journey at seven years old …”). It is the sort of dialogue that streaming-TV producers call “second-screen”, ensuring you know what’s unfolding while you’re watching the film but also glancing at your device. And, the background music is overpowering, at times nearly overwhelming, especially in the scene where the boxer gets too excited calling on the promoter in his luxurious residence.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

Although the leads do their very utmost, their relationship never really ignites, and the major fight scenes are often anticlimactically truncated. The most important scene is surely when, goaded past his limit in the gym one day by the boxer as a delusional “elder”, Ingle in fact proposes to get in the ring and fight him. All present in the gym is stunned and uncomfortable. How exactly is this extremely risky confrontation going to unfold? What will be the outcome? Surely the champion is going to defeat him? Or will he emotionally hold back? The resolution remains ambiguous.

Bright Spots and Comedy

That’s not to say that there aren’t some good moments. Brosnan elicits humor when Ingle informs a journalist what he’s instructing the youths from his neighborhood: to reject bias and when you meet a paedophile, “Hit them in the groin”. Amusing too when Hamed fidgets at the ridiculous stunts Ingle makes him do in the beginning: posing as the “beast from the Middle East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

As for the rift, the film depicts this as being exacerbated by a tell-all book that Ingle is allegedly authored (a story element evidently adapted from another source), and there is an intriguingly conceived final conversation – however the emotional tribute that the boxer is supposed to have paid to Ingle after his death is merely mentioned in the closing credits, and not shown on screen. There is interesting material in this film, but the blows don’t land.

The film was shown at the festival and is in British and Irish theaters from 9 January.