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This film features a talented cast, depicting the true story of coach Ingle, who guided a cheeky Yorkshire youth from Yemeni migrant family. Dubbed “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the fighter was coached to stand up to racist bullies and molded into a media-friendly titleholder in the 1990s. The trainer nurtured his flamboyant confidence and lethal fists, but after becoming rich, Hamed turned against his coach, excluding him and making him a blend of John Falstaff and Broadway Danny Rose.

Cast and Characters

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

Film’s Shortcomings

Yet, the film frankly misses the Prince’s fancy footwork: the fight scenes flow well, but the all-important story in between is consistently flat and one-note. There is no subtlety or light and shade in the portrayal of the protagonist himself, and the actor, an otherwise outstanding performer, isn’t given the chance to show any subtlety or much of what might make his character really interesting – even though he’s obviously been training and looks very plausible in the boxing arena.

Problems with Script and Sound

The story is repeatedly burdened by functional, explanatory lines that inform you precisely what is happening and what we are meant to feel (“You started your career at seven years old …”). This is the kind of dialogue that streaming-TV executives call “second-screen”, making sure you know what’s going on while you’re watching the film but also checking your phone. And, the score is overbearing, at times nearly deafening, especially in the scene where the boxer gets too excited calling on Warren in his luxurious home.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

Although El-Masry and Brosnan do their considerable best, their dynamic never really ignites, and the big set-piece fight scenes are often disappointingly cut short. A key moment is surely when, provoked past his limit in the training facility one day by Hamed as a delusional “elder”, the trainer in fact offers to get in the ring and fight him. All present in the gym is shocked and uneasy. How exactly is this insanely risky confrontation going to play out? How precisely the outcome? Certainly the Prince is going to defeat him? Or will he emotionally pull his punches? The resolution remains ambiguous.

Bright Spots and Comedy

This isn’t to imply that there are no some good moments. The actor gets laughs when Ingle informs a journalist what he’s instructing the kids from his local community: to oppose bias and when you encounter a offender, “Hit them in the bollocks”. It’s funny too when Hamed squirms at the ridiculous stunts Ingle makes him do in the early days: posing as the “monster from the East”.

Plot and Conclusion

As for the rift, the movie depicts this as being exacerbated by a tell-all book that Ingle is allegedly written (a plot point clearly adapted from prior material), and there is an intriguingly imagined last discussion – however the heartfelt homage that Hamed is supposed to have paid to Ingle after his death is only mentioned in the end titles, and not shown on screen. There is interesting material here, but the punches fail to connect.

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