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The movie boasts a impressive ensemble, depicting the true tale of Irish boxing trainer Brendan Ingle, who mentored a brash Sheffield teenager from Yemeni immigrant parents. Known as “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the fighter was taught to confront prejudice and molded into a media-friendly world champion in the 1990s. Ingle cultivated his flamboyant confidence and lethal fists, but after achieving wealth, Hamed betrayed his coach, cutting him out and making him a mix of Falstaff and Broadway Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Brosnan plays the trainer; Amir El-Masry takes on the role of Hamed, and Stephens is the bullish London promoter Warren, who saw the potential that the coach had discovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

However, the film honestly lacks the fighter’s agility: the fight scenes flow well, but the crucial drama in between is consistently dull and one-note. There is no nuance or light and shade in the depiction of the protagonist himself, and El-Masry, an otherwise outstanding performer, doesn’t get the chance to show any depth or much of what might make his character really interesting – even though he’s obviously been training and appears convincing in the ring.

Problems with Script and Sound

The drama is often burdened by functional, expositional lines that inform you precisely what is happening and what we are meant to feel (“You started your career at age seven …”). This is the kind of dialogue that digital executives call “double-screen”, making sure you know what’s unfolding while you’re viewing the film but also checking your phone. Additionally, the background music is overbearing, sometimes nearly overwhelming, especially in the moment where Hamed gets too excited calling on the promoter in his palatial residence.

Performances and Key Moments

Although the leads do their very best, their dynamic doesn’t quite ignites, and the major fight scenes are frequently disappointingly cut short. The most important moment is surely when, provoked past his limit in the gym one day by the boxer as a delusional “elder”, the trainer in fact offers to get in the ring and box him. Everyone in the gym is stunned and uncomfortable. In what way is this insanely risky confrontation going to unfold? What will be the ending? Surely the Prince is going to kill him? Alternatively will he emotionally hold back? The resolution remains ambiguous.

Bright Spots and Comedy

This isn’t to imply that there aren’t some good moments. The actor elicits humor when his character informs a journalist what he’s instructing the kids from his local community: to reject prejudice and when you encounter a paedophile, “Hit them in the groin”. Amusing too when the boxer fidgets at the ridiculous stunts Ingle makes him do in the beginning: acting like the “monster from the Middle East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

Regarding the rift, the film depicts this as being exacerbated by a tell-all publication that the trainer is allegedly authored (a plot point evidently adapted from another source), and there is an intriguingly conceived last discussion – although the emotional tribute that the boxer is supposed to have paid to his mentor after his passing is merely referenced in the end titles, and not shown on screen. There is interesting material here, but the punches fail to connect.

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