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This film features a talented ensemble, depicting the true tale of coach Brendan Ingle, who mentored a brash Sheffield youth from Yemeni immigrant family. Dubbed “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the youngster was coached to confront racist bullies and transformed into a media-friendly world champion in the late 90s. Ingle nurtured his showboating confidence and lethal fists, but after achieving wealth, the boxer betrayed his mentor, cutting him out and turning him into a mix of John Falstaff and Broadway Danny Rose.

Cast and Characters

Brosnan plays Ingle; El-Masry embodies the role of Hamed, and Stephens is the assertive promoter Warren, who saw the potential that Ingle had discovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

Yet, the movie frankly lacks the Prince’s fancy footwork: the fight scenes run smoothly, but the crucial story between them is consistently flat and one-note. It lacks subtlety or light and shade in the depiction of Hamed himself, and the actor, an otherwise excellent talent, doesn’t get the chance to display any depth or much of what might make his role truly engaging – although he’s clearly been working out and looks very plausible in the boxing arena.

Dialogue and Music Issues

The drama is repeatedly burdened by utilitarian, explanatory dialogue that tell you exactly what is going on and what we are supposed to be thinking (“Your journey began your career at seven years old …”). This is the sort of script that streaming-TV producers call “second-screen”, ensuring you understand what’s unfolding while you’re viewing the movie but also glancing at your phone. And, the score is overpowering, at times nearly overwhelming, particularly in the moment where the boxer gets too excited calling on the promoter in his palatial home.

Performances and Key Moments

Although the leads do their very best, their relationship doesn’t quite comes to life, and the major fight scenes are often disappointingly truncated. The most important scene is surely when, goaded beyond endurance in the training facility one day by Hamed as a misguided “old man”, the trainer actually proposes to step into the ring and box him. All present in the gym is shocked and uneasy. How exactly is this insanely risky confrontation going to play out? What will be the outcome? Surely the champion is going to defeat him? Or will he sentimentally hold back? The resolution remains ambiguous.

Highlights and Humor

That’s not to say that there are no some good moments. Brosnan gets laughs when Ingle tells a journalist what he’s instructing the youths from his neighborhood: to oppose bias and when you meet a paedophile, “Hit them in the groin”. It’s funny too when the boxer squirms at the ridiculous antics Ingle makes him do in the early days: acting like the “monster from the Middle East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

As for the falling out, the film depicts this as being worsened by a revealing book that Ingle is supposed to have authored (a story element evidently modified from prior material), and there is an interestingly conceived last discussion – however the heartfelt homage that the boxer is reportedly given to Ingle after his death is merely referenced in the end titles, and not dramatised on film. Some engaging content here, but the blows fail to connect.

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