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This film features a impressive cast, depicting the true story of Irish boxing trainer Ingle, who mentored a cheeky Yorkshire youth from Middle Eastern migrant parents. Dubbed “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the fighter was coached to confront prejudice and molded into a media-friendly titleholder in the 1990s. Ingle cultivated his flamboyant arrogance and lethal fists, but after becoming rich, Hamed betrayed his mentor, cutting him out and making him a blend of Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Cast and Characters

Brosnan portrays the trainer; Amir El-Masry takes on the part of the prince, and Toby Stephens is the assertive promoter Warren, who saw the goldmine that Ingle had uncovered.

Film’s Shortcomings

Yet, the movie frankly misses the fighter’s fancy footwork: the fight scenes flow well, but the crucial story in between is repeatedly flat and monotonous. There is no nuance or light and shade in the portrayal of the protagonist himself, and El-Masry, an otherwise excellent talent, isn’t given the opportunity to display 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 boxing arena.

Dialogue and Music Issues

The story is repeatedly lumbered with utilitarian, explanatory lines that inform you exactly what is going on and what we are meant to feel (“Your journey began your career at age seven …”). This is the kind of script that streaming-TV executives call “second-screen”, making sure you understand what’s going on while you’re watching the film but also checking your phone. Additionally, the score is overbearing, at times nearly deafening, particularly in the scene where the boxer gets overexcited calling on Warren in his luxurious residence.

Performances and Key Moments

Although the leads do their very utmost, their dynamic doesn’t quite ignites, and the big set-piece fight scenes are often disappointingly cut short. A key scene is certainly when, provoked beyond endurance in the gym one day by the boxer as a delusional “old man”, the trainer actually proposes to get in the ring and fight him. All present in the room is stunned and uneasy. In what way is this extremely unwise standoff going to unfold? What will be the ending? Certainly the champion is going to kill him? Or will he sentimentally hold back? The resolution remains ambiguous.

Bright Spots and Comedy

This isn’t to imply that there aren’t some good moments. The actor gets laughs when his character informs a journalist what he’s instructing the kids from his local community: to reject bias and when you encounter a paedophile, “Punch him in the bollocks”. Amusing too when the boxer squirms at the ridiculous stunts Ingle makes him do in the early days: posing as the “beast from the East”.

Plot and Conclusion

Regarding the rift, the movie shows this as being worsened by a tell-all publication that Ingle is supposed to have written (a plot point clearly modified from another source), and there is an intriguingly imagined final conversation – although the heartfelt homage that Hamed is supposed to have paid to his mentor after his death is merely mentioned in the end titles, and not shown on screen. Some interesting material in this film, but the punches fail to connect.

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