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This film features a talented ensemble, telling the real-life story of Irish boxing trainer Ingle, who guided a cheeky Yorkshire teenager from Middle Eastern immigrant parents. Known as Naseem Hamed, the youngster was coached to confront prejudice and molded into a celebrity titleholder in the late 90s. Ingle cultivated his flamboyant arrogance and powerful punches, but after becoming rich, the boxer betrayed his coach, excluding him and making him a mix of John Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Cast and Characters

Brosnan portrays the trainer; El-Masry embodies the role of the prince, and Stephens is the assertive London promoter Frank Warren, who recognized the potential that Ingle had discovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

However, the movie frankly lacks the Prince’s fancy footwork: the boxing sequences flow well, but the all-important drama between them is consistently dull and one-note. It lacks nuance or contrast in the portrayal of the protagonist himself, and the actor, an otherwise outstanding performer, isn’t given the opportunity to show any subtlety or much of what might make his character really interesting – even though he’s obviously been working out and appears convincing in the ring.

Dialogue and Music Issues

The drama is repeatedly lumbered with utilitarian, explanatory dialogue that inform you exactly what is happening and what we are supposed to be thinking (“You started your boxing journey at seven years old …”). This is the sort of script that digital producers call “double-screen”, ensuring you know what’s going on while you’re watching the movie but also glancing at your device. And, the score is overbearing, at times nearly overwhelming, especially in the scene where Hamed gets too excited visiting Warren in his luxurious home.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

While El-Masry and Brosnan do their very best, their dynamic doesn’t quite ignites, and the major boxing moments are frequently anticlimactically truncated. A key scene is surely when, provoked past his limit in the gym one day by Hamed as a misguided “old man”, the trainer in fact 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 play out? How precisely the outcome? Surely the Prince 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 are no some good moments. The actor gets laughs when Ingle tells a journalist what he’s instructing the kids from his neighborhood: to reject prejudice and when you meet a paedophile, “Hit them in the bollocks”. It’s funny too when Hamed fidgets at the ridiculous stunts the coach makes him do in the beginning: posing as the “monster from the Middle East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

Regarding the rift, the movie shows this as being exacerbated by a tell-all book that the trainer is supposed to have authored (a story element evidently modified from prior material), and there is an interestingly imagined last discussion – however the emotional tribute that Hamed is reportedly paid to his mentor after his death is only referenced in the closing credits, and not shown 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 available in UK and Irish cinemas from January 9.