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This film features a impressive ensemble, telling the true tale of coach Brendan Ingle, who guided a cheeky Sheffield youth from Yemeni immigrant family. Known as “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the youngster was coached to confront racist bullies and molded into a media-friendly titleholder in the 1990s. Ingle nurtured his flamboyant arrogance and powerful punches, but after achieving wealth, Hamed turned against his mentor, cutting him out and turning him into a mix of Falstaff and Broadway Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Brosnan plays Ingle; Amir El-Masry takes on the part of the prince, and Toby Stephens appears as the bullish London promoter Warren, who saw the potential that Ingle had uncovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

Yet, the movie honestly lacks the fighter’s agility: the boxing sequences run smoothly, but the all-important story between them is consistently flat and monotonous. There is no nuance or light and shade in the depiction of Hamed himself, and El-Masry, an otherwise outstanding performer, isn’t given the chance to display any subtlety or much of what might make his character really interesting – even though he’s clearly been training and looks very plausible in the ring.

Problems with Script and Sound

The story is repeatedly lumbered with utilitarian, expositional lines that tell you precisely what is going on and what we are supposed to be thinking (“Your journey began your career at seven years old …”). It is the sort of script that streaming-TV producers call “double-screen”, making sure you understand what’s unfolding while you’re viewing the film but also glancing at your device. And, the score is overpowering, sometimes almost overwhelming, particularly in the moment where the boxer gets overexcited calling on the promoter in his luxurious home.

Performances and Key Moments

Although the leads do their very best, their dynamic never really comes to life, and the big set-piece boxing moments are often disappointingly truncated. A key moment is certainly when, goaded past his limit in the training facility one day by Hamed as a misguided “elder”, Ingle actually offers to get in the ring and box him. All present in the gym is stunned and uncomfortable. In what way is this insanely risky confrontation going to unfold? What will be the ending? Surely the Prince is going to kill him? Alternatively will he sentimentally pull his punches? It’s not clear.

Highlights and Humor

That’s not to say that there aren’t some nice jabs. The actor gets laughs when his character tells a reporter what he’s teaching the kids from his local community: to reject prejudice and when you encounter a paedophile, “Hit them in the groin”. It’s funny too when the boxer squirms at the silly antics the coach makes him do in the early days: posing as the “beast from the East”.

Plot and Conclusion

Regarding the rift, the movie depicts this as being exacerbated by a tell-all book that Ingle is allegedly written (a story element clearly modified from another source), and there is an interestingly conceived last discussion – although the heartfelt homage that Hamed is reportedly paid to Ingle after his death is only mentioned in the closing credits, and not dramatised on film. There is engaging content here, but the punches fail to connect.

The film screened at the London film festival and is in British and Irish theaters from January 9.