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This film features a talented ensemble, telling the real-life story of coach Ingle, who mentored a cheeky Yorkshire youth from Yemeni migrant parents. Dubbed “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the fighter was coached to confront racist bullies and molded into a media-friendly world champion in the late 90s. Ingle nurtured his showboating confidence and lethal fists, but after becoming rich, the boxer betrayed his coach, cutting him out and making him a blend of Falstaff and Broadway Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Brosnan plays Ingle; El-Masry takes on the role of Hamed, and Toby Stephens appears as the assertive London promoter Warren, who recognized the goldmine that Ingle had uncovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

Yet, the film honestly lacks the fighter’s agility: the fight scenes flow well, but the all-important story in between is consistently flat and one-note. It lacks nuance or light and shade in the portrayal of Hamed himself, and the actor, an otherwise excellent talent, isn’t given the opportunity to show any subtlety or much of what might make his character truly engaging – even though he’s clearly been working out and looks very plausible in the ring.

Problems with Script and Sound

The drama is repeatedly burdened by functional, expositional lines that inform you precisely what is going on and what we are meant to feel (“You started your career at age seven …”). It is the sort of dialogue that digital executives call “double-screen”, ensuring you understand what’s unfolding while you’re viewing the movie but also checking your phone. And, the score is overbearing, sometimes nearly overwhelming, especially in the scene where the boxer gets too excited calling on the promoter in his palatial home.

Performances and Key Moments

Although El-Masry and Brosnan do their considerable utmost, their relationship never really comes to life, and the big set-piece fight scenes are often disappointingly cut short. A key moment is certainly when, goaded past his limit in the gym one day by the boxer as a delusional “old man”, the trainer actually offers to step into the ring and box him. Everyone in the room is shocked and uneasy. In what way is this insanely unwise confrontation going to unfold? How precisely the ending? Certainly the champion is going to kill him? Or will he sentimentally hold back? It’s not clear.

Highlights and Humor

That’s not to say that there are no some good moments. The actor gets laughs when Ingle tells a reporter what he’s instructing the kids from his neighborhood: to reject bias and when you encounter a paedophile, “Hit them in the bollocks”. Amusing too when the boxer fidgets at the ridiculous antics Ingle makes him do in the early days: posing as the “beast from the East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

As for the falling out, the film shows this as being worsened by a revealing publication that Ingle is allegedly written (a plot point clearly modified from prior material), and there is an intriguingly imagined last discussion – however the heartfelt homage that the boxer is reportedly paid to Ingle after his death is only mentioned in the end titles, and not shown on screen. There is interesting material here, but the punches don’t land.

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