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The movie boasts a impressive ensemble, telling the true story of coach Brendan Ingle, who mentored a brash Sheffield youth from Yemeni immigrant parents. Dubbed “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the youngster was taught to stand up to prejudice and molded into a celebrity titleholder in the 1990s. Ingle nurtured his flamboyant confidence and powerful punches, but after becoming rich, Hamed betrayed his mentor, excluding him and turning him into a mix of Falstaff and Broadway Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Pierce Brosnan plays the trainer; Amir El-Masry takes on the part of Hamed, and Stephens is the bullish London promoter Frank Warren, who saw the goldmine that the coach had uncovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

However, the film frankly lacks the fighter’s agility: the fight scenes run smoothly, but the all-important drama between them is repeatedly flat and one-note. There is no subtlety or light and shade in the depiction of the protagonist himself, and El-Masry, an otherwise outstanding performer, doesn’t get the chance to display any subtlety or much of what might make his role truly engaging – even though he’s obviously been training and appears convincing in the ring.

Problems with Script and Sound

The story is often lumbered with functional, explanatory dialogue that tell you precisely what is going on and what we are supposed to be thinking (“You started your boxing journey at age seven …”). It is the sort of script that digital executives call “double-screen”, ensuring you know what’s going on while you’re watching the film but also checking your device. And, the score is overpowering, at times almost deafening, especially in the scene where Hamed gets too excited visiting Warren in his palatial home.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

While El-Masry and Brosnan do their very best, their dynamic never really ignites, and the big set-piece boxing moments are frequently anticlimactically truncated. A key scene is certainly when, goaded beyond endurance in the gym one day by the boxer as a misguided “elder”, Ingle actually offers to get in the ring and box him. All present in the gym is stunned and uneasy. How exactly is this extremely unwise standoff going to unfold? What will be the outcome? Certainly the champion is going to defeat him? Alternatively will he emotionally hold back? It’s not clear.

Bright Spots and Comedy

That’s not to say that there aren’t some good moments. Brosnan elicits humor when his character tells a reporter what he’s teaching the kids from his neighborhood: to reject prejudice and when you encounter a paedophile, “Hit them in the groin”. It’s funny too when the boxer squirms at the ridiculous stunts the coach makes him do in the early days: acting like the “beast from the East”.

Plot and Conclusion

Regarding the falling out, the film depicts this as being worsened by a revealing publication that Ingle is supposed to have authored (a plot point evidently adapted from prior material), and there is an intriguingly imagined final conversation – however the emotional tribute that Hamed is reportedly paid to his mentor after his passing is only mentioned in the end titles, and not dramatised on screen. There is engaging content in this film, but the blows fail to connect.

The film screened at the festival and is in UK and Irish cinemas from 9 January.