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The movie features a impressive cast, depicting the true story of coach Brendan Ingle, who guided a brash Yorkshire youth from Yemeni immigrant family. Dubbed “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the fighter was taught to confront prejudice and transformed into a media-friendly titleholder in the late 90s. The trainer nurtured his flamboyant arrogance and powerful punches, but after achieving wealth, Hamed turned against his coach, excluding him and turning him into a mix of Falstaff and Broadway Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Pierce Brosnan plays Ingle; El-Masry takes on the part of the prince, and Toby Stephens is the assertive promoter Frank Warren, who recognized the potential that the coach had discovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

However, the movie frankly misses the Prince’s agility: the boxing sequences flow well, but the crucial story in between is repeatedly dull and monotonous. It lacks subtlety or contrast in the depiction of the protagonist himself, and the actor, an otherwise excellent talent, doesn’t get the opportunity to show any subtlety or much of what might make his role truly engaging – even though he’s clearly been training and looks very plausible in the boxing arena.

Problems with Script and Sound

The story is often lumbered with utilitarian, explanatory lines that inform you exactly what is going on and what we are supposed to be thinking (“Your journey began your boxing journey at seven years old …”). This is the kind of script that digital producers call “second-screen”, ensuring you understand what’s unfolding while you’re watching the film but also glancing at your phone. Additionally, the score is overbearing, at times nearly overwhelming, particularly in the scene where the boxer gets overexcited visiting Warren in his palatial residence.

Performances and Key Moments

Although the leads do their considerable utmost, their dynamic never really comes to life, and the big set-piece fight scenes are frequently disappointingly truncated. A key moment is surely when, provoked past his limit in the gym one day by Hamed as a delusional “elder”, the trainer actually proposes to step into the ring and fight him. Everyone in the room is stunned and uneasy. How exactly is this insanely risky standoff going to unfold? What will be the ending? Certainly the champion is going to defeat him? Or will he sentimentally hold back? The resolution remains ambiguous.

Highlights and Humor

This isn’t to imply that there are no some good moments. The actor gets laughs when his character informs a reporter what he’s teaching the kids from his neighborhood: to reject bias and when you meet a paedophile, “Hit them in the bollocks”. Amusing too when the boxer squirms at the ridiculous stunts the coach makes him do in the beginning: acting like the “beast from the Middle East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

Regarding the rift, the film depicts this as being exacerbated by a tell-all book that Ingle is supposed to have authored (a plot point evidently modified from prior material), and there is an intriguingly conceived last discussion – although the heartfelt homage that Hamed is reportedly given to Ingle after his death is merely mentioned in the end titles, and not dramatised on screen. There is engaging content here, but the punches fail to connect.

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