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The movie features a talented ensemble, telling the true story of coach Ingle, who mentored a brash Yorkshire youth from Middle Eastern immigrant family. Known as “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the fighter was coached to stand up to prejudice and transformed into a celebrity world champion in the 1990s. The trainer nurtured his flamboyant confidence and powerful punches, but after achieving wealth, Hamed turned against his coach, cutting him out and making him a mix of Falstaff and Broadway Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Pierce Brosnan plays the trainer; El-Masry takes on the role of Hamed, and Toby Stephens appears as the bullish promoter Warren, who recognized the potential that Ingle had discovered.

Film’s Shortcomings

However, the film frankly misses the Prince’s fancy footwork: 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 portrayal of Hamed himself, and El-Masry, an otherwise outstanding performer, isn’t given the opportunity to display any subtlety or much of what might make his character truly engaging – even though he’s clearly been working out and appears convincing in the boxing arena.

Problems with Script and Sound

The story is repeatedly lumbered with utilitarian, explanatory dialogue that inform you exactly what is going on and what we are meant to feel (“You started your boxing journey at age seven …”). It is the sort of script that streaming-TV executives call “second-screen”, ensuring you understand what’s going on while you’re viewing the movie but also checking your device. And, the score is overpowering, sometimes nearly deafening, particularly in the scene where Hamed gets too excited visiting Warren in his palatial home.

Performances and Key Moments

Although El-Masry and Brosnan do their considerable utmost, their relationship never really ignites, and the big set-piece fight scenes are often disappointingly truncated. The most important moment is certainly when, provoked past his limit in the training facility one day by Hamed as a misguided “old man”, Ingle in fact proposes to step into the ring and box him. All present in the gym is stunned and uncomfortable. In what way is this extremely unwise confrontation going to unfold? How precisely the outcome? Certainly the champion is going to kill him? Or will he sentimentally hold back? The resolution remains ambiguous.

Bright Spots and Comedy

That’s not to say that there are no some good moments. Brosnan gets laughs when his character tells a reporter what he’s teaching the youths from his neighborhood: to oppose bias and when you encounter a offender, “Hit them in the groin”. It’s funny too when Hamed squirms at the silly stunts Ingle makes him do in the beginning: acting like the “beast from the Middle East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

Regarding the falling out, the movie shows this as being worsened by a tell-all book that the trainer is allegedly authored (a story element evidently modified from prior material), and there is an interestingly imagined last discussion – however the emotional tribute that the boxer is supposed to have paid to his mentor after his death is merely referenced in the closing credits, and not dramatised on screen. Some engaging content in this film, but the punches don’t land.

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