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This film features a impressive cast, depicting the real-life tale of Irish boxing trainer Ingle, who mentored a cheeky Yorkshire youth from Yemeni immigrant family. Known as “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the fighter was coached to confront prejudice and molded into a media-friendly titleholder in the late 90s. Ingle nurtured his flamboyant confidence and powerful punches, 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

Pierce Brosnan plays the trainer; Amir El-Masry embodies the part of the prince, and Toby Stephens is the assertive London promoter Warren, who saw the goldmine that Ingle had uncovered.

Film’s Shortcomings

However, the film honestly lacks the Prince’s agility: the fight scenes run smoothly, but the all-important drama between them is consistently flat and monotonous. It lacks subtlety or contrast in the depiction of Hamed himself, and the actor, an otherwise excellent talent, doesn’t get the opportunity to show any depth or much of what might make his role really interesting – although he’s clearly been training and appears convincing in the boxing arena.

Problems with Script and Sound

The story is repeatedly lumbered with functional, explanatory dialogue that tell you exactly what is happening and what we are meant to feel (“Your journey began your career at age seven …”). It is the sort of dialogue that digital executives call “double-screen”, making sure you understand what’s going on while you’re watching the film but also checking your device. And, the score is overpowering, at times nearly deafening, especially in the moment where the boxer gets overexcited visiting Warren in his luxurious residence.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

Although El-Masry and Brosnan do their very best, their relationship doesn’t quite comes to life, and the major boxing moments are often anticlimactically truncated. A key scene is surely when, goaded past his limit in the gym one day by Hamed as a misguided “elder”, the trainer actually offers to get in the ring and box him. Everyone in the gym is shocked and uncomfortable. In what way is this extremely unwise confrontation going to unfold? How precisely the outcome? Surely the champion is going to kill him? Or will he emotionally hold back? The resolution remains ambiguous.

Highlights and Humor

This isn’t to imply that there are no some good moments. Brosnan elicits humor when Ingle tells a reporter what he’s instructing the kids from his local community: to oppose prejudice and when you meet a paedophile, “Hit them in the groin”. Amusing too when Hamed fidgets at the silly stunts Ingle makes him do in the beginning: acting like the “beast from the East”.

Plot and Conclusion

Regarding the falling out, the movie shows this as being exacerbated by a tell-all publication that Ingle is supposed to have authored (a story element clearly modified from another source), and there is an intriguingly imagined final conversation – however the emotional tribute that Hamed is reportedly paid to his mentor after his passing is merely mentioned in the closing credits, and not dramatised on film. Some engaging content here, but the punches don’t land.

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