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This film boasts a impressive cast, telling the real-life tale of Irish boxing trainer Ingle, who guided a brash Yorkshire youth from Yemeni migrant parents. Known as Naseem Hamed, the fighter was taught to stand up to racist bullies and transformed into a celebrity titleholder in the late 90s. The trainer cultivated his showboating confidence and lethal fists, but after achieving wealth, the boxer betrayed his coach, cutting him out and making him a mix of Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Pierce Brosnan portrays Ingle; Amir El-Masry embodies the part of Hamed, and Stephens appears as the assertive promoter Warren, who saw the goldmine that the coach had discovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

Yet, the film honestly lacks the Prince’s fancy footwork: the boxing sequences run smoothly, but the crucial story between them is consistently dull and one-note. It lacks nuance or contrast in the portrayal of Hamed himself, and El-Masry, an otherwise excellent talent, isn’t given the opportunity to display any depth or much of what might make his role really interesting – even though he’s clearly been working out and appears convincing in the boxing arena.

Problems with Script and Sound

The drama is often burdened by utilitarian, explanatory dialogue that inform you exactly what is happening and what we are supposed to be thinking (“Your journey began your boxing journey at age seven …”). It is the kind of dialogue that streaming-TV executives call “second-screen”, ensuring you know what’s unfolding while you’re viewing the film but also glancing at your device. Additionally, the score is overpowering, at times almost deafening, especially in the moment where Hamed gets too excited calling on the promoter in his palatial residence.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

While the leads do their very best, their dynamic never really ignites, and the major fight scenes are often anticlimactically truncated. A key scene is surely when, provoked beyond endurance in the gym one day by Hamed as a misguided “old man”, Ingle actually proposes to step into the ring and fight him. Everyone in the room is stunned and uncomfortable. How exactly is this extremely risky confrontation going to play out? What will be the outcome? Certainly the Prince is going to defeat him? Alternatively will he emotionally pull his punches? It’s not clear.

Bright Spots and Comedy

This isn’t to imply that there are no some nice jabs. The actor elicits humor when his character informs a reporter what he’s teaching the youths from his local community: to reject prejudice and when you meet a offender, “Hit them in the groin”. It’s funny too when the boxer fidgets at the silly antics the coach makes him do in the beginning: acting like the “monster from the East”.

Plot and Conclusion

Regarding the rift, the film depicts this as being exacerbated by a tell-all book that the trainer is supposed to have written (a plot point clearly adapted from another source), and there is an interestingly imagined last discussion – however the emotional tribute that the boxer is reportedly paid to his mentor after his passing is merely mentioned in the end titles, and not shown on screen. Some engaging content here, but the blows don’t land.

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